


Albus Potter and the Legacy's Curse

by freyjawriter24



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternative to Cursed Child play, Gen, Hufflepuff Albus Severus Potter, Hufflepuff Common Room, NOT Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Slytherin Scorpius Malfoy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-27
Updated: 2017-06-29
Packaged: 2018-08-17 13:15:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 26,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8145391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freyjawriter24/pseuds/freyjawriter24
Summary: I was disappointed with the new play for many reasons, so I thought I'd write my own version of the eighth story, nineteen years later...





	1. The Journey to Hogwarts

Albus clutched the window frame of the carriage door tightly, the last few seconds with his parents reminding him how much he was going to miss them. Steam billowed around Harry and Ginny, stood shoulder to shoulder on the platform, and Albus tried to capture a mental photograph of the two of them together like that, clinging to each other, framed by the hustle and bustle of the busy London station. He laughed along with his cousin beside him, plus his sister and Hugo on the platform, at some joke his uncle had made, but he wasn’t really concentrating on that. This was it. This was the last time he’d see his parents for months. This was his first journey to Hogwarts.

The train jolted into action, and started its slow progression out of the station. Albus watched as his parents walked beside the Hogwarts Express, moving faster into the skippy run people do when they’re crossing the street in front of a waiting car. He grinned at them, leaning out of the window to wave, his nervousness and trepidation turned into excitement. Home sickness could wait – he was finally travelling to the one place he’d always wanted to visit, finally heading to the one castle that he truly equated with ‘real’ magic in his head – the fabled school where he would learn to become a fully-fledged wizard, where he would discover amazing things and have so much fun.

He gave one final wave as his parents ran out of platform and had to stop, and then suddenly King’s Cross was engulfed by the steam gushing from the engine’s funnel, and Harry and Ginny Potter had vanished, and he was on his way to Hogwarts.

“See you at Christmas,” he whispered at the vague outline of the station as it disappeared around a corner. And then he looked forward, turning the other way, staring along the railway tracks northwards, towards his destination and his new home for the next few months.

Rose was bored with the view. She abruptly grabbed his sleeve and tried to tug his arm to drag him further into the carriage.

“Come on, Al,” she said enthusiastically. “I want to go meet some people in our year!”

Albus shrugged her off gently, turning back towards the window.

“Give me a minute. I’ll catch you up.”

Rose hesitated a moment, nervous to talk to strangers without her cousin’s support, but then she shrugged and began to head off down the train.

“Guess I’ll see you at the Sorting, if you can’t find me!” she called over her shoulder, and then her bushy brown hair and neat Hogwarts uniform, reminiscent of another new student from well over twenty years ago, vanished from view.

Al watched in silence for a few more moments as the city shrank behind them, enjoying the changing landscape from skyscrapers to small houses to fields, holding onto the sense of calm it gave him. He mulled over the information his father had given him as a parting gift – _you’ll be able to choose_. He wondered whether you could choose any house, or just between the ones you most fitted into. Probably the latter – in which case, he should still be able to choose another house over Slytherin, even if that house wasn’t Gryffindor. Despite James’ torturous insistence, he didn’t believe he was _completely_ Slytherin – even if he was _mostly_ , there was a get-out clause. He sighed into the steam-filled air, then pushed away from the carriage door and belatedly followed his cousin down the train.

Most of the carriage compartments were already full. He passed by one that contained what appeared to be final year students, their limbs sprawled over the seats, wearing jeans and t shirts or hoodies, all flicking idly through their textbooks. _Ravenclaw_ , his mind subconsciously determined. Another carriage housed second years, some wearing robes that identified them as Hufflepuff, others wearing casual muggle garments. There was a compartment further along where he saw his brother James and some of his friends that Albus recognised as fellow Gryffindors. They were all laughing and having fun, but Al didn’t dare interrupt them – they were James’ friends, not his, and besides, there wasn’t any room.

He kept moving, mainly looking for Rose, but alternatively for a carriage that had space in with students his age. He passed several compartments with students of apparently mixed age and house, before coming to one that was almost entirely empty – except for a thin, pale, blond-haired boy in a smart black shirt and dark jeans.  
Albus hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should knock – the boy did look to be a first-year, so it might be nice to make friends and have someone to talk to, but perhaps he’d chosen an empty compartment on purpose?

He didn’t have time to wonder why that would be. The boy looked up at the movement by the door, and, catching his eye, grinned.

Al slid open the door and leaned in slightly.

“Do you mind if I come in? There’s no room anywhere else.”

“Of course,” the boy said, a friendly smile spreading over his face. Then he frowned: “I mean, yes, I don’t mind, come in.”

Albus smiled back awkwardly and stepped into the compartment, sliding the door shut again behind him before taking a seat opposite the other boy.

The blond first year stuck out a spindly hand, formally, but so eagerly that it seemed to be more friendly and polite than a reflection of the solemn, business-like manner Albus associated handshakes with.

“I’m Scorpius,” the blond boy announced.

“Albus,” was the response, and the two shook hands.

Then Scorpius stopped and stared.

“You’re Harry Potter’s son, aren’t you?”

Albus was surprised. He suddenly remembered the other students and parents on the platform, gawking at his family while he boarded the train. Why was everyone looking? He knew his parents had played some part in the last war, but that was ages ago, way before he was born – and as far as he knew, pretty much everyone had had _some_ role in the war – so what was so special about them? How did Scorpius already know his father’s name?

“Yes…” he answered slowly, a questioning look on his face.

Scorpius realised his confusion, and clarified.

“I’m Draco Malfoy’s son. Our dads knew each other in school. They were in the same year.”

“Oh, right.” Well, that explained it.

“Your family’s mostly Gryffindor, isn’t it? Do you think that’s the house you’ll get sorted into?” Scorpius asked.

“I hope so,” Albus started. “I mean, I wouldn’t _mind_ being anything else, only I know my parents kind of secretly _want_ me to be Gryffindor, like my brother. And I really don’t want to be Slytherin.”

As the last words left his mouth, he suddenly remembered a vital piece of information about the Malfoys that he’d almost forgotten.

“I mean, not that there’s anything _wrong_ with being in Slytherin,” he carried on quickly. “It’s just that I know James would tease me about it _endlessly_ , and I could do without that, you know?”

Luckily, Scorpius didn’t seem offended by his implication.

“Yeah, I know what you mean. My mum’s always said they don’t care which house I end up in, they’ll still love me regardless, blah, blah, blah, but I know my dad definitely wants me to be in Slytherin, and I think she secretly wants it too. I think they’d still be happy if I was Ravenclaw or whatever, but I know they’d be a bit disappointed if I ended up Gryffindor. I think it’s just family tradition.”

Albus nodded and agreed.

“Yeah. They always say ‘we don’t mind, you’re still our son’, but then they’ll make jokes about what if I’m not in Gryffindor, and… I know how they really feel. It’s a lot of pressure.”

Scorpius smiled, and Al found it infectious. The two of them had a moment of shared understanding, albeit from opposite angles – each knowing how it felt to be pushed towards a goal they had little control over, and no idea how to achieve.

“So, anyway, do you know anyone else going here this year?” Albus asked.

“Not really, no,” Scorpius admitted, shrugging. “I only really have a couple of relatives anywhere near my age, and no one that’s a first year. What about you?”

“I’ve got a cousin, Rose,” Albus said. “I thought I might see her going down the train, but she must have found a compartment further up. She wanted to find some people in our year to chat to.” He frowned for a moment, wondering why she hadn’t stopped here, since Scorpius was clearly their age.

“Your cousin?” Scorpius asked. “Do I know who that is? Has she got any older siblings? Who’re her parents?”

“Ron and Hermione Granger-Weasley,” Al offered. “She’s only got one brother, and he’s younger than her, so you might not know them.

“Oh, I know about Ron and Hermione,” Scorpius nodded. “They were your dad’s best friends at school, weren’t they?”

Albus frowned again, feeling marginally uncomfortable.

“Sorry, that must sound really weird, that I know who your family are.” Scorpius appeared to be blushing slightly, but he forced himself to meet Al’s eyes. “Not many kids my age that I knew to play with, so I liked reading and listening to stories. Sometimes my parents would tell me about the war. I think we’ll be studying it in History of Magic at some point, so I figured it was worth knowing and remembering, in case it came up.”

Albus shrugged, indicating he didn’t mind. He had never really asked his parents about the war, and they didn’t offer much voluntarily. He supposed they might be helpful to ask if they got any homework on it, though, since they were there. He wondered what exactly Scorpius knew about them.

“So, what are you looking forward to most about school?” Scorpius asked, subtly changing the subject.

“I don’t know,” Albus said, excitement creeping into his voice. “James didn’t tell me much about it, and Mum said she didn’t want me to know all the details, or it would spoil the surprise. I’m looking forward to the feast, though, Dad said it was always delicious.”

“I can’t wait to see the common rooms,” Scorpius confided. “I’ve always imagined what they look like, but I’ve never seen pictures or anything.”

“Yeah, that’ll be cool.” His mind wondered for a moment, imagining soft sofas and calming lights and warm fires and potted plants on windowsills.

“What about lessons?” he asked next.

“Ooh, I don’t know. Mum always said History of Magic used to be really boring, but I think they’ve got a new teacher now, so it might be quite interesting. And Dad always used to love Potions, so I think that’ll be good.”

“My mum liked Charms, I think,” Albus said, trying to remember. “And Defence Against the Dark Arts. And Transfiguration. All the practical magic-using lessons.”

“Oh, and Herbology, and Care of Magical Creatures!” Scorpius added. “I’m looking forward to those! My dad never liked working with the animals, but I bet it’ll be interesting.”

“My parents are friends with the Herbology teacher,” Albus said. “Neville Longbottom? Only I think I’m supposed to call him Professor Longbottom now.”

“Oh, yeah, I remember that name,” Scorpius said. He avoided demonstrating any more of his strangely in-depth knowledge of the war by pointing out another lesson they were both very interested in – “Quidditch!”

“Oh, yes!” Al said. “I can’t wait for our first flying lesson! Can you fly already?”

“Yeah,” Scorpius said eagerly. “My parents got me a broom for my birthday last year, but I’d messed around on old ones in the shed a few times before that. I can’t do anything fancy, but I can go where I want to.”

“Same. My brother’s always showing off how he can flip the broom and fly upside down, but I think that’s pretty much all he can do. I’ve been working on making my turns quicker. I’d love to join my house quidditch team when I’m good enough, but I don’t know if I ever will be.”

“My dad was on the team, and I’m not sure he’s anything special at flying, really, so you’ll probably be alright,” Scorpius said reassuringly. “Hey, wasn’t your dad on the team, too?”

“And my mum. And most of my uncles. I’ve got a lot to live up to!” He pushed the worry of houses away again, where it had crept intrusively into his mind at thoughts of his family. He smiled brightly instead, trying to show the pressure didn’t worry him.

“Wow,” Scorpius said, impressed. “It’s probably in your blood, then.”

Albus laughed. “Yeah, maybe.”

“If not, there’s always Gobstones, or Wizard’s Chess.”

“My cousin’s really good at that,” Al said. “Wizard’s Chess, I mean. Her dad taught her – they’re both really good at strategy. I always lose against them.”

“Maybe she’ll be a Ravenclaw. They’re good at strategy, aren’t they?”

Albus considered this.

“Yeah, she might be, actually,” he said after a moment. “I mean, she loves reading, like her mum, and she’s really smart, so… yeah, maybe. And she’s already dressed in her robes, even before we got on the train.”

“Definitely Ravenclaw!” Scorpius chuckled.

The trolley witch interrupted their conversation to offer them food, and though both boys had been prepared by their parents with sandwiches and drinks, they each bought some sweets with a handful of shining change. Two packs of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans, three Chocolate Frogs, a Liquorice Wand and a couple of Cauldron Cakes. Neither boy bought a Pumpkin Pasty.

They talked more about lessons and free time, wondering how long it would take to learn the useful spells like _Accio_ , and how much homework they’d get. Albus considered whether the many feet of parchment his brother had complained about was realistic or exaggerated, Scorpius plotted the best way to get it all done _and_ have enough free time to explore the grounds, and they both talked about sending letters home.

The light outside the window gradually began to dim as the sun moved towards the horizon, and the boys’ levels of excitement grew as they felt their destination inch ever nearer.

Suddenly there was a knock at the compartment door, and the boys looked up to see Rose standing there. Her deep brown hair had been pulled back into two thick, bushy bunches either side of her head, and her robes were still spotless, despite her presumably having been wearing them while lounging around in a train compartment all day. She pulled open the door and poked her head in, staring directly at Albus.

“Hurry up, Al, you should have changed into your robes by now. We’re almost there!”

“Ok, ok, I’m going,” Albus said, standing up. He gathered up the remains of his lunch and the mountain of sweet wrappers scattered across his seat.

Scorpius stood up too. He stuck a hand in Rose’s direction.

“Scorpius Malfoy, pleasure to meet you. Rose, I presume?”

She looked slightly confused and uncomfortable with Scorpius’ formality, but after a second she took the hand and shook it, nodding to confirm her name. Then she disappeared back through the doorway the way she’d come, running off to find her new friends.

“I mean, she’s confident enough at barging in to be Gryffindor, but you’d think if that was her house she’d at least stay and chat.”

“Yeah, no, I know what you mean,” Albus agreed, not really thinking about it seriously. “She’s right though, we should go and change.”

The two of them hurried off to grab their school clothes from their trunks, and finished changing just as the train began to slow down. Out the window nothing was visible except trees and mountains, and the sun had now set, bringing a darkness to the landscape.

And then the train was in the station, and they were there.

There was a sudden rush of activity as the students poured out of their compartments into the narrow corridors of the train, all eager to reach the platform and get moving towards the school.

Albus and Scorpius stuck together as they pushed their way out of the carriage, stepping onto solid ground one after the other, and looking around for where they were meant to go.

It was slightly colder than Albus had expected, but his robes were enough insulation for now – and besides, he was excited enough that he didn’t mind the cold much.

A booming voice Al recognised was calling for first years further down the platform, but before the two of them could make their way towards it, James suddenly appeared in front of them.

“Oh, hi James,” Albus said, mildly surprised that his brother would approach him at school. He politely introduced Scorpius, but James seemed distracted. The older Potter looked around warily, then suddenly caught his brother by the scruff of his robes and pulled him closer for a moment.

“Hey, um… if anyone starts whispering or anything when you go up to get Sorted, don’t worry about it, ok?” he said cryptically.

“What?”

“I mean, if anyone says anything when they hear your name, just ignore it, alright?” His voice sounded urgent and concerned, and it was quiet, conveying deadly seriousness.

“James, what have you said about me?”

His older brother released his robes.

“Nothing,” he said innocently. Albus couldn’t tell if he was messing around or not.

“James!” But his brother merely flashed a grin at him and disappeared into the sea of black-cloaked bodies.

“What was that about?” asked Scorpius, stepping nearer to him through the crowd.

“No idea. Probably just my brother being stupid,” Albus said, brow creasing.

“Come on, this way. We’re going to the boats!”

The peculiar warning was forgotten, and the boys quickly made their way towards a large shape further up the platform, holding a lantern several feet above the students’ heads, and calling out for any more first years.

Hagrid was considerably older than he had been the year he welcomed Harry’s year group to Hogwarts, but Albus had never known him to look any different. His soft smile counteracted his impressive stature, and the dark grey of his shaggy beard and wild hair was more reminiscent of an unkempt grandfather-figure than anyone scary. The first years seemed comforted by his presence, though in awe of his enormous height.

Albus and Scorpius were towards the back of the group, but Rubeus still spotted the boy who looked so like his father, and gave him a quick, friendly wave. Al grinned back, and Scorpius stared at him in surprise.

“You know him?”

“Oh, yeah,” Albus said, quickly explaining. “Hagrid used to work at the school, as Groundskeeper, and then teacher. My parents and uncles and everyone knew him, but he was particularly friends with my dad, and Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione.”

Another secretive wave at someone in the crowd was presumably directed at Rose, though Albus couldn’t see her from where he was standing.

“He’s retired now, but he still takes the first years to Hogwarts by boat, and he still lives onsite. He’s invited me to tea with him at his house next Friday. Maybe you could come?”

But the question wasn’t answered, as Hagrid’s booming voice interrupted their conversation.

“This way, firs’ years, follow me!”

The throng of new students swarmed forwards after the half-giant, following him down a rough track through the trees towards the lake. There were lots of excited whispers flittering between the children, but everyone was mostly quiet. The air was filled with anticipation, as they waited for their first view of Hogwarts castle.

Then suddenly the path ended, and there was the school, grandly sprawling over rocks and mountains, lights dazzling in every one of its hundreds of windows. A gasp went up from the students.

“Wow,” said Albus, unable to help himself. Scorpius nodded in agreement with his new friend’s wonder.

Hagrid directed them into the boats on the edge of the Black Lake. Scorpius and Albus were joined by two girls they hadn’t seen before, and Scorpius politely offered both of them his hand to shake as they stepped into the boat. The pale girl with sleek dark hair and pretty, narrow onyx eyes was called Juniper Bletchley, and her friend, wearing a black hijab and with skin only slightly darker than Rose’s, was named Collette Jenkins. Both girls looked at each other when Albus introduced himself, but neither said anything, and Al soon forgot the strange reaction in the excitement of finally reaching the castle.

As the boats glided across the glassy surface of the water, Albus tried to take in everything around him. The tall pines, like sharp shadows under the starry sky; the soft reflection of the waxing moon on the lake’s pitch-black waters; the glint of light on and within the glass windows of the school; the many turrets and towers – everything amazing, everything beautiful, everything just as incredible as he had imagined.

Al turned to look at Scorpius, and saw his friend was enthralled as well – his eyes were wide, gazing up at the castle, his mouth forming a small, perfect ‘o’ at the sight. Juniper and Collette had similar expressions of wonder on their faces, as had many of the other students in the nearby boats. Albus spotted his cousin sat in the front of one of the vessels on the left side of the little fleet, pointing up at something and whispering excitedly to one of her new friends, a small boy with short, jet black hair.

As they glided gently towards the cliff, Hagrid called out for them to duck, and then they were suddenly in the very underbelly of Hogwarts itself, clambering out of the boats and rushing up smooth stone steps to file through an enormous wooden door.

Albus’ excitement levels were through the roof. He barely heard Hagrid’s swift conversation with the wizard waiting for them, and was too busy staring at the mass of marble in the Entrance Hall to see where they were going. Only once they had filed into a small, plain room with fewer interesting things to look at did he focus again on what was going on.

The wizard standing in front of them appeared to be about the same age as Albus’ parents, and he was wearing rich, midnight-blue robes with tiny silver stars embroidered on them, which seemed to twinkle like real stars in the flickering light of the torches on the walls. Albus wondered whether it was just the flames, or if they were enchanted to do that.

The man introduced himself as Professor Anthony Goldstein, Deputy Head of Hogwarts and Head of Ravenclaw House. There was a smattering of whispers at his words, but it only lasted for a moment. The gaggle of first years gazed up at him expectantly, entranced by this amazing person, for some the first real professor they had met.

“Welcome to Hogwarts,” Professor Goldstein said, smiling down at them. “For some of you, this will all be very new and strange, although I expect it is certainly exciting for most of you, if not all. As such, I have a few things to say so that everyone is up to speed on what happens next. Once I have finished talking, I will take you through into the Great Hall, which is where you will have all your meals whilst at Hogwarts. You will see when we go in, that there are four tables, one for each of the four Hogwarts Houses – Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. We ask that for important events such as the start and end of term feasts, you stick to sitting at your house table, but for most other meals you can sit wherever you feel most comfortable, be that with your housemates or at the tables of other houses with friends that have been sorted differently to you.”

He paused for a moment to check that the students understood what he was saying, then moved on.

“The Sorting Ceremony itself is quite straightforward. Your name will be called, and you will be invited to sit on a stool, where the Sorting Hat will determine which house you are best suited to, based on the traits you possess. Now, the houses are important, since your dormitories and common rooms, as well as lessons, will be shared with other members of your house, but we do encourage inter-house cooperation and friendship. The House Cup is awarded each year to the house which does best at earning House Points, but this is nothing more than friendly competition, and anyone found exhibiting inappropriate behaviour towards another student based on their house will be disciplined. I hope that is clear.” He stared down at them sternly, emphasising the importance of this rule.

Several students nodded quickly. A couple shrugged, and one or two frowned slightly, though Albus wasn’t quite sure why.

“Now, unless there are any vital questions that require answering immediately, I will take you in. All concerns and queries about houses and lessons are best directed towards your House Prefects and Student Heads once you’ve been sorted. Is everyone ready?”

There was a soft chorus of ‘Yes, sir’ and ‘Yes, professor’, accompanied by much nodding. No one put their hand up to ask a question, so the blond-haired Deputy Head turned around and led them out of the chamber, and finally into the Great Hall.


	2. The Sorting Ceremony

The grand doors swung open, revealing the huge, light-filled room before them. There was a swell of chattering and excitable noise that filled the room, but it gradually died down as the first years filed in down the centre towards the Sorting Hat.

Albus marvelled at the hall. The incredible ceiling that his aunt had told him about was displaying all the wonderful colours and lights of the Milky Way, and it almost seemed real, if not for the way it melded into the carved stone walls around the edges. The whole room was lit by flaming torches around the perimeter and a mass of floating candles above each of the four house tables and the adjacent head table at the opposite end of the hall, where most of the teachers were sat.

Scorpius nudged him and pointed out Al’s brother James, grinning and waving in their direction from the Gryffindor table. He also spotted Victoire and Louis sat together further down the table, though he didn’t have time to look for all his other cousins. The swarm of new students came to a halt in the middle of the hall, and Professor Goldstein picked up the large scroll of parchment from which he would read their names.

The sudden realisation that all his relatives were sat at the same table washed over Albus, and he tried not to panic as the old fear came back – _what if I’m not in Gryffindor? What if I’m a Slytherin?_ Scorpius noticed his drained face and put a hand on his shoulder.

 _You ok?_ He mouthed silently. Albus nodded weakly, then shook himself mentally and focused on watching the ceremony. _It’s fine, it doesn’t matter, you can choose_ , he told himself. Although, right now, that somehow didn’t seem very convincing.

Then, suddenly, to Albus’ intense surprise, the hat on the stool in front of them began to sing. Its strange voice filled the now-quiet hall, explaining the traits of the four houses and declaring itself the only hat smart enough to determine to which each student belonged. The odd sound broke Albus’ nervous reverie, and he had to restrain himself from giggling nervously.

Part of the song was a rhyme Albus knew – Scorpius too, by the soft, unconscious movement of his lips in time with the words – but the absurdity of it being sung by a hat made Al want to laugh out loud. He noticed a few other first years grinning like they wanted to laugh too, but Juniper and a couple of others were just watching in quiet awe. Everything was new and strange here for some people, and not to be laughed at; Albus guessed Juniper was probably muggleborn.

Once the hat had finished, everyone gave it a loud round of applause, and it appeared to fold in half a few times of its own accord, as if bowing. Then it stopped moving, and Professor Goldstein began to unravel the scroll.

“Anderson, Cherry,” called out Professor Goldstein, and a hush descended on the room. A small, nervous-looking girl with long, mousy-brown hair in two plaited bunches stepped forwards, and carefully inched up onto the stool. Professor Goldstein gently lowered the hat onto her head, and the poor girl seemed to jump suddenly, as if a loud noise had gone off by her ear. After a few seconds, the hat declared Cherry’s house in a loud voice.

“RAVENCLAW!”

The table of students on Albus’ immediate left cheered, and the whole room clapped until Cherry had found her way to a seat.

Next up was Juniper, one of the girls Albus and Scorpius had shared a boat with. She stepped up confidently, and held her head up high as the hat was lowered onto it – an elegance that was slightly undermined by the hat slipping down over her eyes, since it was so big.

“SLYTHERIN!” the hat shouted.

Juniper smiled as the hat was lifted up, and she hurried off to sit at the table on the far right. Albus felt his stomach squeeze; he secretly hoped he wouldn’t be joining her.

A couple of other students were sorted, and then came “Ezra, Mervyn,” who was the first Gryffindor chosen. Albus glanced over at his brother, who was cheering for this new boy along with his friends. He wondered whether that might be him soon, or not.

A few more students took their seats, hovering nervously on the stool, awaiting their fate, before getting up and moving towards their new homes. The time the decision took was different for each one, but most were sorted in a matter of seconds. The Sorting Hat took what seemed like forever to choose where “Gamby, Horace” belonged, the poor boy sweating under the hat’s wide brim, before finally settling on Slytherin. Albus hoped he wouldn’t have an awkward pause like that.

“Granger-Weasley, Rose.” Professor Goldstein’s voice rang out loudly over the crowded hall.

“RAVENCLAW!”

Albus froze. Rose? Rose was in Ravenclaw? He’d joked about it on the train with Scorpius, but it hadn’t really crossed his mind that it might be true. He ran over what he knew of his cousin – smart, inquisitive, strategic, creative, strong-willed – and he suddenly realised the hat was right. Rose was a Ravenclaw. _Oh._

He was in a daze for the sorting of the next couple of students, their names and houses fading into the background as he watched Rose take her seat among the students with blue highlights in their robes. _Ravenclaw._

“Isaacs, Jacob” was put in Hufflepuff, as was Collette, the other girl from the boat. Professor Goldstein had hardly touched the hat to her hijab before it had screamed her house name. Next was “Jones, Urszula,” and although it took slightly longer, she also followed the previous two to the Hufflepuff table.

Then it was Scorpius’ turn.

“Malfoy, Scorpius,” Professor Goldstein called. Distracted by thoughts of his cousin, Al jumped at the name, before quickly offering a reassuring grin to his friend. The thin boy gave a final look at Albus, smiling nervously, then he stepped forward and climbed onto the stool.

It took about thirty seconds. Albus found himself timing it. Scorpius looked like he was thinking hard, focusing more on the hat than what was going on in the Great Hall around him. Suddenly, the answer was made known.

“SLYTHERIN!”

Scorpius looked relieved, and Al thought he saw his friend’s hands shaking slightly as he walked off to join the cheering green and silver house he now belonged to.

“Miranda, Mateo” was called up. Albus was thinking fast. He was pleased for Scorpius, who had managed to get into his family’s house, despite his worries. He recalled Scorpius’ serious expression on the stool, and wondered whether he was doing what Al’s dad had said – asking the hat to choose what he wanted. But should he do the same?

“RAVENCLAW!”

Was that what he wanted? Albus suddenly had a moment of doubt. Of course he didn’t want to get teased by his brother, and he didn’t want to disappoint his parents – his whole family of Gryffindors – but shouldn’t he choose the house that best fitted his personality? Wasn’t that the point? Isn’t that what Rose had done? But, then, if his family were going to have to deal with one of their children not being Gryffindor already, should he make it worse for them by making that number two? And after all, Slytherin would be worse, harder to deal with than Ravenclaw, surely? But didn’t they always say they didn’t really mind? He hesitated.

“O’Clery, Sylvain” became Gryffindor, “Perks, Daisy” went to Hufflepuff, and then –

“Potter, Albus.”

A ripple shot around the Great Hall. Al was certain the room was quieter than it had been for anyone else stepping up to the stool. He took a deep breath, then moved forward to find his fate.

Professor Goldstein smiled kindly at him as he neared the hat. He sat down, and got a last, strange view of an entire hall of students staring directly at him, before his vision was obscured by the musty-smelling lining of the Sorting Hat.

“Well, hello there, Potter,” said a quiet voice. Albus tensed up at the sound of the Sorting Hat’s voice, but quickly realised that only he could hear what was being said.

“Hmm, you’re an interesting one, aren’t you? Such concern, so much loyalty to your family and their house…”

Albus thought hard, willing the Sorting Hat to hear what he was saying with his mind. _Please, not Slytherin._

“Do you know, your father had that same request of me when he was sorted? Ah, but of course you did, he told you! Not to worry – there’s not enough of the serpent in you for that.”

Albus heaved a sigh of relief, and almost missed the next sentence.

“But you’re not quite the lion, either – HUFFLEPUFF!”

The final word echoed around the silent hall. For a fraction of a second, there was no sound. Albus almost panicked – was it too late to change? Then suddenly the room erupted, the Hufflepuff table cheering and whooping for him, and clapping coming from every direction. Professor Goldstein lifted the hat off him, and he was greeted by the sight of hundreds of grinning faces.

He stood up, smiling in surprise at the positive reaction, then hurried over to sit beside Collette. The Hufflepuffs next to him all smiled amiably, whispering ‘hi’ and clapping. Albus felt an unexpected warmth fill him – he would be alright. He wasn’t Slytherin. He was fine.

As a boy named Enoch Simpson stepped from the dwindling group of first years towards the stool, Albus searched the table over on the far side of the room until he found his brother – staring back at him with a half-smile that seemed more like a commiseration than congratulations.

Albus faltered. Had he made a mistake? He had been put in the house best suited for him, which was good, wasn’t it? And he wasn’t Slytherin, which was all he wanted. But he wasn’t Gryffindor either – the first in the family not to be. No, not the first – the second. He hadn’t looked over to see James’ reaction when Rose had been sorted. He wondered what it had been.

His brother’s gaze had shattered the small moment of excitement and relief Albus had had, and he was suddenly anxious all over again. What would his parents say? What would his cousins think?

Enoch was given Gryffindor. Albus watched as his brother snapped his gaze away from Al and stood up to cheer loudly for the newcomer to his table.

Al felt like he’d been punched in the gut.

He watched the rest of the Sorting Ceremony in confusion, not knowing whether to be happy or upset.

“Smith, Andrew.”

“SLYTHERIN!”

“Smythson, Jessica.”

“RAVENCLAW!”

“Spike, Leonardo.”

“RAVENCLAW!”

“Taylor, Kate.”

“GRYFFINDOR!”

And then suddenly it was over, and the first years were all seated at their newly-selected house tables. Third-year James was at Gryffindor, Rose was in Ravenclaw, Al himself was sat with the Hufflepuffs, and Scorpius had become Slytherin. Professor Goldstein took away the scroll, hat, and stool. The students turned to look up at the head table, chattering quietly.

Albus properly looked at the other teachers for the first time. He immediately saw Neville, dressed in red and black robes and sat almost directly opposite the Hufflepuff table. He tried to catch the professor’s eye, but Neville was looking the wrong way, towards the centre of his own table. Albus followed his gaze, and watched as Professor Goldstein sat down next to an elderly witch in vibrant emerald robes.

Al recognised the Headmistress of Hogwarts at once. He watched as she stood grandly from her chair, ready to give her start-of-term speech to the students. This was Professor Minerva McGonagall; transfiguration expert, war hero, animagus, and his sister’s godmother.

The room felt silent without command. Minerva looked sternly around the hall, her eyes seeming to single out every student individually, taking them in, connecting with them, greeting them.

“Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, first years, and welcome back everybody else!” She spoke loudly enough for her speech to fill the room, but without yelling or straining her voice. The effect was one of confidence and sincerity.

“There are just a few quick reminders for you that I need to say. Since this year term starts with a weekend, you will all have two days to relax before your lessons start. First years, this may be a good opportunity for you to learn your way around the school – if you get lost, don’t hesitate to ask an older student to show you the way, especially if they are wearing a prefect’s badge. Second years and above, for those of you interested in trying out for your house quidditch teams, this weekend would be a good time to practice, especially if you will be using school-provided brooms and not your own. Trials will be next weekend, and details should be posted on the noticeboards in all common rooms by tomorrow evening. Timetables for this year will be distributed by prefects in the common rooms tomorrow morning, and classes begin on Monday morning at nine o’clock sharp. Please be punctual to your lessons.

“I would also like to remind all students that the Great Forest is forbidden for everyone, with no exceptions. Breakfast is between six-thirty and nine, you may come and go as you please, but again, please try to be on time for all your classes. Lunch will be between twelve and two, and dinner will be served between six and eight pm.

“I wish you all a wonderful and productive year at Hogwarts. Now, I know you are all hungry after your long journey, so please – feel free to begin.”

Before Albus’ eyes, the plates and bowls on the five long tables suddenly became filled with all sorts of delicious foods. James had told him how this worked, but it was still exciting to see in action – empty dishes magically filled with potatoes, various meats, steamed vegetables, gravy, and so many more, all in an instant.

The other Hufflepuffs immediately began to dig in, spooning Yorkshire puddings, carrots, vegetarian sausages and broccoli onto their plates. Al had been looking forward to the feast for ages, but somehow he had now lost his appetite. He put a few roast potatoes and some chicken on his plate, as well as a dollop of cauliflower cheese, but he didn’t pile the food high like some of the others were.

“Are you ok?” Collette said quietly to him.

Albus looked up in surprise, then quickly swallowed his tiny mouthful to reply.

“Yeah, I’m fine, thanks.”

“Are you sure? You’re not eating much.”

“I’m just not that hungry.”

She didn’t look convinced. The two students that she’d been talking to on the opposite side of the table, a second and a third year, were also pointing concerned looks in his direction. He sighed – he must be standing out like a sore thumb; the only first year in the room not excited to finally be here, the only person not wolfing down as much food as their stomach could hold.

“It’s fine, really, I’m just… I didn’t expect to be in Hufflepuff, that’s all.”

“Oh,” one of the older students said. Albus winced – he hoped he hadn’t offended them.

“It’s not that there’s any problem with Hufflepuff,” he said hurriedly. “I just…” He didn’t know how to explain himself. Luckily the third-year stepped in.

“You’re James Potter’s little brother, aren’t you?”

“Yeah…” Al said slowly.

“Listen, don’t let what he says get to you. Honestly, Hufflepuff’s a great house. Just because the rest of your family is Gryffindor, doesn’t mean it’s right for you.”

“Anyway, wasn’t that your cousin who ended up in Ravenclaw?” the second-year asked. Albus nodded.

“There you go, then,” the third-year smiled. “You’re not the only one.”

“Yeah…” Albus said again. “But… I don’t know, that’s different somehow. I mean, her mum’s really clever, and her dad’s amazing at strategy and stuff, and Rose has been into reading since pretty much before she could walk. I mean, it makes sense that she’s Ravenclaw. But I’m just…”

“You,” Collette said simply.

Albus looked at her. She shrugged and smiled at him. He thought about it for a second, frowning, then found himself smiling back at her.

“You don’t need to emulate your family in everything,” added the third-year. “As long as you do what’s best for yourself, that’s the most important thing.”

Somehow, they had made him feel better.

“Thanks,” he said.

Collette introduced them both to him. The third-year witch was called Callidora Shafiq, and the second-year student was Aruna Jain.

“If you have any questions about your lessons or anything, we’d be happy to help,” Callidora offered. “The prefects and Student Heads of Houses are there for any major issues you have, and they’ll help you get around during your first week, but other than that you can just ask us, if you want.”

“Yeah, there’ll usually be someone in the common room all the time anyway, and pretty much anyone in Hufflepuff is always there to help.” Aruna ran a hand through their short black hair. “It’s weird thinking I was in your position only a year ago. So much has happened. Seriously, you learn loads really quickly. It always feels weird going home and knowing how to do stuff, but not being allowed to use any of it.”

Collette and Albus looked at each other. They’d both been used to not having a wand, and just trying to control themselves so they didn’t accidentally create magic – they hadn’t thought about how weird it would be not using magic once they knew how to.

“But you’ve got a while before you need to worry about that,” Aruna added. “At least until Christmas.”

They finished up the main course, chatting between the four of them. Albus was feeling a bit better about himself now, and tried to push the issue of houses to the back of his mind. Collette was just asking about what to expect in their first Charms lesson, when a rather portly ghost pushed himself up through a half-empty bowl of roast potatoes.

“Hello!” said the Fat Friar, smiling cordially at Albus and Collette, apparently oblivious that he was speaking to them from a pile of vegetables.

“Hi,” the two first years replied awkwardly.

Al looked around to see a number of other ghosts entering the room from the direction of the Entrance Hall and the floor below. The Grey Lady was gliding gracefully along the centre of the Ravenclaw table, and Albus noticed Rose giving her a shy wave. The Bloody Baron was brandishing his sword at a group of Slytherin sixth-years, and Nearly-Headless Nick was trying to convince a bunch of third-year Gryffindors _not_ to call him that.

“So, got ourselves some new students, have we?” the Hufflepuff ghost was asking.

“Yes, Friar,” Callidora said. “This is Collette, and this is Albus.”

“Welcome to Hufflepuff, both of you. And welcome to Hogwarts!” The ghost’s pale transparency somehow seemed to emanate warmth in his jovial expression, and Albus felt comforted again.

Al watched as the rest of the Friar’s body rose from the pile of potatoes, temporarily engulfing a plate of meat and a jug of gravy, and proceeded to glide down the length of the Hufflepuff table, cheerily greeting other first years and welcoming back returning students.

Collette tried to muffle a giggle beside him, and Albus followed her gaze to see the Headmistress talking sternly to a clown-like ghost that was floating cross-legged in the air in front of her.

“Peeves,” Albus guessed, and Collette nodded.

“My mum told me about him. He can be really annoying, and not many teachers like him, but they can’t get him to leave. Apparently he had this sort of ongoing war with the last caretaker. Professor McGonagall seems to know how to handle him, though.”

Albus watched as the poltergeist unravelled his crossed limbs to float comically with his hands on his hips, leaning forward so far he was almost horizontal in line with the Headmistress’ head. Then, suddenly, with nothing more than a blown raspberry and a childish gesture, Peeves zoomed out of the room through the now closed doors towards the Entrance Hall. McGonagall watched him go, then nodded once to herself in approval.

Al wondered what power she had over the fabled mischief-maker. He’d heard many stories of Peeves’ escapades from his Uncle George, and as far as his uncle knew, the only way Peeves would do as you said was if it was to help cause trouble, and you were a known troublemaker yourself. Albus wondered what mischief the Headmistress had gotten up to that meant the poltergeist offered her such respect as to listen to her commands.

That train of thought was interrupted by the disappearance of the remains of dinner and the arrival of a huge selection of desserts. Sticky toffee pudding, chocolate brownies, profiteroles, ice cream, lemon sherbets, and strawberry cheesecakes were laid out on plates and platters all along each of the five tables, along with fruit bowls and boards of cheese and crackers.

Collette and Albus looked at each other wide-eyed, then dived in, trying to fill their plates as much as possible. Al had recovered his appetite from earlier, and the lack of food he’d eaten for his main course paid off in his ability to devour far more pudding than anyone else. He tried a bit of everything, trying to choose favourites and ending up covered in cream and very full.

The Hufflepuffs chatted a little more as Albus finally emptied his plate, and then the tables were cleared instantaneously, and Headmistress McGonagall dismissed them with a gentle smile and wishes for a wonderful weekend.

The room stood up, a sea of people suddenly milling around the huge hall, all trying to find friends and get to their dormitories. Al and Collette looked around, slightly overwhelmed, before Aruna turned around and pointed them in the right direction. Al smiled at them, and then they and Callidora disappeared into the crowd.

Albus moved in the direction Aruna had indicated. A sixth year witch wearing her prefect badge proudly on her chest was calling the new Hufflepuffs over.

“First years gather over here, please!”

The rest of the students were filing out slowly through the great doors of the Hall, making their way independently back to their dormitories. Albus and Collette shuffled against the tide towards the small group of first years standing with their house prefect. The latter stepped up onto the bench beside Hufflepuff’s house table, giving her a clear view of the children gathering around her.

Once all the new students were assembled and the Great Hall was already half-empty, the prefect put her left hand in the air for silence. The young Hufflepuffs turned to look at her expectantly, waiting for instruction.

“Hi everyone, I’m Grimelda Scrubb. But honestly, please don’t call me that. I go by Melda, Elda, or if you prefer, just El.” She beamed down at the other students, checking each of their faces to see if they were ok.

“If you forget my name, don’t be afraid to ask, even if you’ve already had to ask before – I promise I don’t mind. Now, I’m going to take you all to the Hufflepuff common room, and get you settled into your dormitories. Boys and girls are traditionally separated and everyone sleeps in dormitories together, but if you’re uncomfortable with your sleeping arrangements just let us know. Your rooms and beds will usually remain the same throughout your time at Hogwarts, barring any extreme circumstances, so make sure you remember which one’s yours.”

With that, she hopped down off the bench and moved towards the doors of the Great Hall. The room was almost empty now, with only a few stragglers left to go back to their common rooms. Albus glanced behind him to see that almost all of the teachers had gone too, possibly disappearing through the small doors behind the head table rather than having to move through the crush of students. Only Professors McGonagall and Goldstein were left, talking quietly between themselves. The Headmistress caught Albus’ eye and she smiled at him, offering a small, discreet wave. Al grinned back, then turned to join Collette and the rest of the first year Hufflepuffs, all following Grimelda like a clutch of newly-hatched chicks.

The Hufflepuff common room wasn’t hard to get to. It was a floor lower than the Great Hall, and they passed down a long corridor that seemed to run directly beneath the room with the enchanted ceiling, albeit to one side. Al noticed a couple of the other children pointing and whispering when they saw a large painting of a bowl of fruit, but he didn’t manage to catch what exactly they were saying.

The group stopped beside a small pile of barrels at the end of the corridor, and the first years gathered around their prefect.

“This is the entrance to our common room,” she announced, patting the side of one of the barrels. “It’s quite simple to get into, so you don’t have to worry about remembering passwords or solving riddles like the other houses. All you do it knock firmly on the lid of this barrel to the rhythm of the words ‘Helga Hufflepuff’.” She clapped her hands together as she said each syllable to demonstrate – one, two, three-four-five.

“If you get it wrong, duck, because _this_ barrel will cover you with goo. It hasn’t happened to anyone in Hufflepuff for ages, but occasionally someone from another house will try to get in and regret their decision.” A few of the new students giggled at the image.

“That doesn’t mean that other students aren’t allowed in our common room, but it does stop them from trying to come in on their own. Right, I’ll let each of you have a go so that I know you know how to do it. One at a time, each of you can knock, and the barrel will let you in. Once you’re inside, you can have a look around the common room, but please don’t wander off before I can show you where you’ll all be sleeping.”

The new students formed a short queue, and each took turns to knock on the barrel in the rhythm Grimelda had shown them. Albus ended up in the middle, just behind Collette. He watched carefully as the others tapped out the password, several moving their lips gently to make sure they got it right. No one made a mistake – each person had the entrance successfully swing open to let them in, allowing them to climb down through the barrel. Collette had to duck a bit to get in, since she was taller than most of the others. Then it was Al’s turn.

 _Hel-ga Huff-le-puff._ Albus tensed for a second, but then the barrel door swung open and he was permitted inside. No goo today.

He sighed with relief and stepped through the gap. Beyond was a narrow passage, very different from the corridor outside. There, it had been slabs of paved stone and uniform stone walls; here, the ground was a dirt path, sloping upwards and curving round to become the walls and ceiling of an earth tunnel. It reminded Al of the kind of hard, compact mud you get in summer – soft to the touch but impossible to dig up. He remembered his house’s animal symbol, and guessed it was supposed to look like whatever a badger’s home was – they lived underground, didn’t they? A set, he thought it was called.

He hadn’t quite reached the top of the passage before he heard another student knock the barrel behind him. He moved forward quickly to get out of their way, and suddenly stepped into the Hufflepuff Common Room.

It was amazing. Gorgeous, even, he would go so far as to say. Everything about it felt like home. There were a plethora of sofas and armchairs dotted around the room, deep and soft-looking, upholstered in fabric in a mismatch of yellow and black patterns, arranged in groups or along the walls or facing the fireplace. There were tables of various shapes and sizes, for use as desks or just to put things on, and a couple of cushioned footrests hiding under some of them.

A few small bookcases in the same golden-yellow wood as the tables were built into the walls, holding a number of textbooks familiar to Al from his visits to Flourish and Blotts in Diagon Alley. The bookcases were topped with plant pots, and more greenery overflowed from pots on little round wooden shelves curved to fit the walls, and from copper plant holders hanging from the low ceiling.

In one corner, the branches of a bird tree perch the same honey-wood as the rest of the furniture was covered in owls, some sleeping with their heads under one wing, others looking around alertly. Al thought he spotted his own barn owl amongst them, but there was too much to look at to go over and say hi now.

There was no sunlight left to stream through the neat round windows, but the room was bathed in a gentle, homely glow from the fire, and the lights of several groups of candles, all of different sizes and shapes, clustered on tables and shelves. It was all warm and yellow, cosy and homely.

Albus looked around in awe. Everything was comfortable, welcoming, friendly, safe. Everything looked beautiful, felt wonderful, gave him a warm feeling in his chest and stomach. All doubts washed away again, hopefully for the final time – this was perfect. He belonged here. Hufflepuff was home.

The last few first years followed Al in, and then Grimelda came and stood in front of the fireplace to greet them all again. Albus noticed the mantelpiece was carved all over in little badgers, apparently doing some sort of dance, and he grinned to himself. He couldn’t stop smiling – now he was here, he knew he’d made the right choice. He beamed up at the prefect, and listened carefully whilst she directed the new students’ attention to the various things they needed to know.

“Well, now you’re all here there’s just a couple more things to tell you,” she said, looking into each pair of bright, excited, tired eyes. “And then you can all go to bed and be ready for tomorrow. Firstly, as you can see, this is the Hufflepuff Common Room. For those of you who don’t know, every house has its own common room, and each one is a little different. You can use this room for relaxing in between lessons, as a study area, as a place to meet friends and chat, as somewhere to play games, as a reading zone, whatever you like, really, as long as you respect everyone else’s right to use the room too. Usually when there are exams people head to the library to study properly, so we don’t ask for silence in here at any point, but equally we don’t want too much noise, since this is supposed to be a relaxing place to be.

“This is Helga, our original Head of House.” Grimelda gestured upwards at the huge painting over the fireplace. Helga was dressed in embroidered robes of a beautiful warm yellow, with a black furred cape of some sort. She was smiling in a soft, friendly way, looking down at the new students.

A couple of the first years jumped when the painting moved.

“Hello, there,” Helga said warmly. “Congratulations on making Hufflepuff. I am sure you will all find yourselves a home here, but if you ever need any comfort, help, or advice, let me know. I should be here most of the time, but if I’m not, just knock on my frame and I’ll get back as soon as I can.”

She was holding a small golden cup in one hand – an odd-looking thing with two handles – and now she raised it cheerily and toasted the group.

“To a year of fun and learning, and a wonderful time at Hogwarts!”

Collette giggled, and a boy Al thought was called Jacob started to clap, before realising no one else was joining in and quickly stopping, blushing a deep shade of pink. Albus looked over, hoping to catch his eye to give him a supportive smile, but Helga got there first – as Jacob looked up sheepishly, the painting of the witch gave him a quick wink, and Jacob smiled back at her.

Grimelda was speaking again.

“Our current Head of House is new to the role this year, since Professor Sprout finally retired at the end of last year, after a few years working in the Hospital Wing. You may have seen her at the teacher’s table during dinner, but if you don’t know her yet, you will get to meet her tomorrow.”

Albus frowned – he thought his family had said Professor Sprout did Herbology, not healing. But then, she couldn’t have only retired last year if she did Herbology, because that was Neville’s job, and he’d been there ages. Al was too tired to puzzle it out in his head, so he made a mental note to ask someone about it tomorrow – maybe Helga, if no one else was around.

“Other things to know,” Grimelda continued. “The toilets and dormitories are through there.” She pointed in turn at four round doors set into the walls of the room.

“Boys, girls, other rooms, and toilets. If you forget which is which, don’t worry, just ask.”

“Really do ask, children,” Helga jumped in. “Even if I’m not in my painting, just knock. I’d rather you called so I could point you the right way than you getting anxious because you don’t want to go in the wrong one. I promise I won’t mind! I’ve got eons to have my conversations around the castle, so that can all wait – you, on the other hand, are far more important, and shouldn’t have to.”

Grimelda smiled at the painting, then stage-whispered to the group as if Helga couldn’t hear.

“I’ve had to do that a couple of times – honestly don’t worry about it. Helga’s lovely, and she’d rather you didn’t wet your pants!”

A few students giggled, then quickly restrained themselves, pretending not to be so childish. Grimelda smiled to herself, satisfied, and Albus watched as she counted on her fingers to check if she had left anything out.

“Other than that – you will meet your other prefects and the Student Heads of Houses for Hufflepuff tomorrow. You can sleep in as late as you like, since it’s the weekend, but we will be meeting up at breakfast and doing some activities together if you want to join us, so let me know when I show you your beds if you want an alarm. If anyone wants to write to their parents tonight, you can do it in here, and then I’ll show you to your dormitories. If you brought an owl with you to Hogwarts, they’ll be over on the tree” – she gestured to the small parliament in the corner – “or if you don’t have one there are a few school-owned birds there too. Any questions?”

There was silence and shaking of heads. Grimelda smiled and glanced up at Helga, who grinned back at her. Albus decided he liked both of them a lot – he knew Hufflepuff was a friendly house, but somehow he hadn’t quite realised how much. He felt comfortable here already, and it must have been less than five minutes.

“Right, I’ll be back in a minute,” Grimelda said. “There’s spare parchment at all the desks if you want to write. I’m sure you’re all tired, so don’t make them too long. You can write again in the morning if you want, remember. And make sure you use the loo now if you need to!”

She disappeared through one of the round doors in the wall of the common room, leaving the gaggle of small students alone in this warm oasis.

Albus looked around at his fellow first years. Collette shrugged, then walked over towards a nearby desk and sat down. A couple of other students did the same, though a few others moved shyly towards the fireplace, looking up at Helga. Their conversation was soft and low, and the combination of the warmth, dim light, and comfortable setting with such calming background noise was making Al tired. He sat down on a hard wooden chair and reached for some parchment and a quill before he fell asleep on the spot.

It was harder to write than he expected. What did he say? How did he approach the central issue, the main thing that his parents would be scanning the letter for, the one thing everyone wanted to know? He hesitated for a moment, quill poised over the parchment. Then he began to write.

_Hi Mum and Dad!_

_Just thought I’d let you know, I made it to Hogwarts ok, and it’s amazing! All the things you told me about are even better than I expected, and there’s so much more I didn’t know would happen too! I can’t wait to start lessons on Monday, but the weekend’s going to be great too – I’m going to be shown around by the prefects with the other students in my house._

_In case James hasn’t spoilt it_

Albus frowned, then crossed out the last two words, thickly enough that he hoped his parents wouldn’t be able to read them. He needed to learn an ink removal spell or something.

_In case James hasn’t told you yet, I’m a Hufflepuff. I know it’s probably not what you wanted or expected, but I think I’m happy with it. Everyone here is lovely, and I think I’ve already made some friends, which is nice._

_I’ll tell you more about everything another time, but I’m a bit tired right now, so I’m going to bed. Love you both lots. Say hi to Lily for me. Write soon!_

He didn’t hesitate about signing it with a kiss – his family had always shown affection in smaller ways like that as well as bigger gestures, so it was natural – but he considered the single little x for a moment before adding a second; he wanted to make sure they knew he missed them, after all.

Al wondered whether he had used too many exclamation marks. He stared at the page for a minute, then shrugged, shoulders heavy with exhaustion, and decided it would do.

It felt strange writing to them like this. It was only this morning since he’d last seen them, but it already felt like a lifetime ago – so much had happened. There was so much information to take in, so many things to remember, and King’s Cross seemed at least a week ago, but it was really only a matter of hours.

 _Hufflepuff._ His roaming eyes caught the word, and it seemed to stand out from the page. He wondered if his parents’ eyes would be drawn to it in the same way, if that would be the first word they saw, if they would know before they even read the letter, even without James’ help. _Hufflepuff._

Suddenly a thought jumped into Albus’ head. He was shocked he hadn’t thought of it before, and was annoyed at himself for forgetting. He grabbed the quill again, and scribbled a hasty post-script at the bottom of the page.

_P.S. I want to write to Teddy to tell him myself. I’ll send it at breakfast tomorrow if I can. Don’t tell anyone else until tomorrow afternoon so I know he’s definitely got it from me first. Thank you!_

How had he forgotten Teddy? He was so much part of the family already, he was like another cousin, or an older brother – and yet Al had completely forgotten that he was now the same house as him. He supposed it was because of who Teddy’s family were – his mother was a Hufflepuff, and his grandfather before her, and it was just expected that Teddy would be in the same house. And he’d left Hogwarts a year ago, so it clearly just wasn’t on Albus’ mind. Al was too young to remember Teddy’s sorting, anyway.

Still, he didn’t know how he could have forgotten. Teddy Lupin lived in these walls, hung out in this common room, possibly even wrote at this desk. Albus felt a sudden, deeper kinship with his father’s godson, and felt another wave of reassurance wash over him – he wasn’t the only one. Teddy was there for him, Teddy would back him up. He _did_ have family in Hufflepuff, really. Al smiled to himself. He wished he could see Teddy’s face when he found out.

Just then Grimelda came back. She looked around to see if everyone was done writing, then called for the girls to follow her. She led them through one of the round doors in the wall, showing them to their beds for the night. Collette waved goodbye to Al, and he smiled back at her as she disappeared through the door.

Albus quickly stuffed the letter into an envelope he found on the desk, and addressed it to his parents. He took it over to the tree perch in the corner, and his barn owl, Casper, squeaked a soft greeting. Al stroked the bird’s head gently, then offered him the letter.

“It’s for mum and dad,” he explained. “You ready?”

The owl squawked again and took the letter. He spread his wings and hopped up onto the nearest windowsill. Al watched as the bird nudged the glass pane open, and he smiled in surprise as the round window spun to let the owl out, and closed perfectly again to keep the warmth in. Beyond the glass was a grassy lawn and the dark night, and Al watched Casper as he spread his wings and soared straight upwards, out of sight.

Grimelda wasn’t back yet. Jacob and several other students he couldn’t quite remember the names of were still in the common room with him. Albus wanted to try out one of the sofas, but he was so tired he was afraid that once he’d sunk into one, he wouldn’t be able to get up. Instead he waited on his feet, looking around the room, taking his new home in in as much detail as possible. He tried to name the various plants waving their leaves at him from around the room, but could only get a few, and mostly only the generic names – ferns, cacti, nettles, and Dittany. He supposed he would learn the rest in his Herbology lessons with Neville, whenever those ended up being. Timetables tomorrow, Professor McGonagall had said. The prospect of learning was exciting, but now Albus was feeling an increasing sense of exhaustion, and just wanted to go to bed.

Grimelda came back from the girls’ dormitory fairly quickly. She was levitating a small, glowing orange ball in front of her, and Albus frowned curiously.

“Now, can I just check if everyone else here is a boy?” No one moved, so she shrugged cheerily.

“Right, this way then!”

They went through another of the round doors, and found themselves in a passage similar to the one to get into the common room from outside. The earthy corridor stretched forwards and widened into an oval shape, the walls punctuated by seven more doors. Grimelda led the way to the third from the left, and she opened it to let the boys file in before her.

The room was similar to the common room in colour scheme, but it was narrower and less rounded. There were a number of wooden beds set out in a straight line, the headboards against the right-hand wall, each with a bedside table, and a small shelf set in the wall directly above it. The beds were made up with sheets, and each had a yellow and black patchwork quilt laid on top, neatly tucked in at the edges.

“Your luggage is all here already,” Grimelda explained from the doorway. Albus looked at the trunks, set down at the end of each bed, and spotted his own at the far end of the room. Jacob’s was next to his.

“I’ll let you all get to bed now. There are curtains that come out from the walls if you want some privacy – just tap the buttons on the walls there.” The prefect gestured to the nearest bed, and a boy pointed both questioningly and in demonstration at a small darkened dimple in the earthen wall just above the bedside table.

“That’s right,” Grimelda said. “Tap once to make the curtain appear, then tap again to make it go back in. The lights can be dimmed using the dial on the side of your bedside tables – you’ve all got your own, and it’ll dim the lights for you and your bed area only, so you don’t all have to agree to a certain light level. Now, who wanted an alarm for the morning?”

Everyone decided that they would get up together so they could participate in the breakfast and activities that Grimelda had mentioned, so she called them all back towards the door. Each of them had to place their hands on the strange orange ball, and it glowed brighter for a moment at each boy’s touch. Albus was too tired to ask why, but he guessed all would be revealed tomorrow.

With that, Grimelda wished them all goodnight, and shut the door behind her.

Albus went to his trunk and opened it. He sighed with relief and mentally thanked his mother for putting his things for tonight on top, and quickly got himself ready for bed. There were little sinks set into the wall opposite the ends of each bed, with cups for toothbrushes to sit in, and the boys each got ready to go to sleep, playing around with how the curtains worked, and testing their new beds.

Al was one of the first to be ready. He didn’t want to seem rude by leaving his curtain shut, so he put it away, and then reached for the light dimmer to test it. The room became dark at his touch, but the lack of reaction from the other boys indicated that as far as they were aware, the light was still the same. Albus smiled in joy at the experience of another new kind of magic.

He quickly fell asleep to thoughts of comfy chairs and warm fires and chocolate and magic and home.


	3. Induction Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve put the sections that don’t directly focus on Albus in italics, since these insights wouldn’t normally occur if written the way JK does it, but I enjoyed writing them and wanted to add them in, so I wanted to separate them somehow. If anyone has trouble reading a large block of italicised text, let me know and I’ll just change it back to normal, non-emphasised text. Letters are also in italics.

_The owl arrived late that night. Harry had left their bedroom window cracked open so it knew where to go, and the barn owl swooped gracefully onto the windowsill in one neat motion, gently alerting the occupants of the room to his silence presence with a delicate tap of his beak on the glass._

_The bird was named Casper, short for Caspian, chosen by Albus himself, based on one of his favourite stories growing up. The barn owl was young and energetic, but not overly excitable. Somehow he made Harry nostalgic at times like these – those soft, pale feathers, the intelligent eyes, the affection Casper would show him. He remembered a bird just like that – larger, stronger, unafraid to let him know what she thought, but similar all the same. The wound was old and healed now, but a scar still remained; Harry didn’t think he’d ever stop missing Hedwig._

_Ginny got up from the bed to let Casper in, and after offering her the letter, he flew to a little bowl of water and plate of food the Potters had left out for him._

_Harry plumped up the pillows on the bed, and Ginny leant against him so they could read it together. They skimmed the words of the letter in silence, racing to read the important parts, then each sighed gently._

_Ginny looked up to check Harry had finished. He smiled at her with an expression that said ‘well, there you go, then’, and she returned the look in kind._

_“Hufflepuff,” she said finally. “That’s nice.”_

_“Yeah,” said Harry. “It is.” His voice was firm, as if admonishing himself for ever thinking otherwise._

_“Teddy will be excited,” Ginny said, indicating the bottom of the letter and grinning._

_“Oh, definitely!” said Harry, laughing slightly. “He’ll be over the moon that he’s not the only one in the family!”_

_Ginny gave him a look._

_“Please tell me that wasn’t a pun.”_

_Harry looked at her blankly for a second, then registered what he’d said and burst out laughing. The two of them giggled together for a while, before Ginny got up and went to her little desk in the corner of the room._

_“We’d better write to James as well, tell him to be nice to his brother,” she said, shuffling the pile of papers in search of some spare parchment._

_“Yeah, I guess he’ll be pretty disappointed,” Harry mused. He got up and reached over to stroke Casper, who returned the affection by rubbing his head gently against Harry’s arm._

_Casper always seemed to make Harry miss Hedwig more than James’ owl, Branstone, did – perhaps it was the haughty, distant temperament Branstone offered to everyone except James, while Casper was generally friendly to everyone unless he had reason to dislike a person, like Hedwig had been. More likely it was simply the pale softness of Casper’s feathers, neatly and beautifully arranged, that stirred Harry’s memories, unlike Branstone’s scruffier dark brown look._

_“As long as he doesn’t annoy him about it, or just completely ignore him,” Ginny said, the sternness of her parenting voice coming through._

_Harry’s mind jumped back to the present, and quickly ran over what Ginny had just said._

_“Yeah,” he responded belatedly. He hoped his eldest son wouldn’t be mean to Albus – he’d tried to explain to him that houses didn’t really matter, that it was just personality types, and not about which was better. But James had always been a competitive one, and proud of his solidly Gryffindor heritage; in his mind, wearing red and gold was an essential part of belonging to the Potter-Weasley family, and though his parents had tried, there was little they had been able to do to change that._

_Ginny had found some parchment and a couple of quills. Harry stepped up behind her and rested a hand on her shoulder._

_“Do you want to write to James or Al?”_

_She considered for a moment, then sighed._

_“You’d better write to Albus. I’ll do James’.”_

_Harry picked up a quill and dipped it in the ink pot. Ginny handed him a slip of parchment, and he went to sit back on the bed, summoning a large book from the shelf to rest against. There wasn’t enough room at the tiny desk for the both of them._

_They sat in silence for several minutes as they wrote and considered their words, then swapped letters to read and sign._

_“That’s lovely,” Ginny said, finishing reading Harry’s letter to Albus._

_“I hope it doesn’t sound like we’re trying too hard to be positive.”_

_“No, I think it’s fine,” she said, shaking her head and smiling softly. She turned in her seat to address the owl._

_“Are you alright to go back again tonight, or do you want to rest up and go in the morning?”_

_Casper put his head on one side for a moment as if thinking, then stuck his leg out in response._

_“Ok, sure.” Ginny stood up, sealing her letter, and collected the other one from Harry on her way over._

_“This one’s for James, and this one’s for Albus,” she said, indicating the names carefully. “You’ll probably get there fairly early, but if you wait and drop them off at breakfast then they should both be in the Great Hall. Got it?”_

_The bird bobbed in a way that suggested a nod, took the letters, and quietly slipped back out of the window. Ginny shut it behind him, and went back to the bed to sit with Harry._

_“Do you think he’ll be alright?” she asked._

_Her husband paused before responding, thinking it over._ No, James won’t be mean. Not that mean anyway. And Hufflepuff’s a wonderful house, it’s great for community. Al should be happy there. __

_“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Harry said eventually, reassuring himself as much as Ginny. He squeezed his wife’s hand gently, and they both settled down for the night together._

_“He’ll be fine,” he whispered once more through the dark, into her hair._

_Ginny squeezed his hand back. They were both nervous for their son, but he was miles away now, and they’d done everything they could._

***

The morning came to Albus gently, the sort of lazy way you wake up at weekends when you have nothing to do, nowhere to be, and can just sleep in without an alarm to start you awake. He gradually became aware of a warmth spreading from the centre of his chest, and opened his eyes drowsily.

Floating gently above him, almost touching the quilt he was lying under, was a small orange globe, glowing softly. Al recognised it as the same one Grimelda had offered to them last night – this must be the alarm. _Well, that was a fairly nice way to wake up_ , he thought.

He reached over to the dial on the side of his bedside table and slowly turned the light up, letting his eyes adjust and peering around the dormitory.

As soon as he sat up, the little orange ball floated softly away from him, then whizzed off down the line of beds and disappeared somewhere near the door. The other boys in his dormitory were also sitting up or already getting ready, apparently all woken by the orange alarm. Most were laying out muggle clothes rather than school robes, since it was the weekend. Al began to get excited – today he’d finally get to have a proper look around the place he’d wanted to go his whole life.

Jacob glanced over from the bed next to him and smiled at Albus. Al grinned back, and threw off the sheets. _First full day at Hogwarts._ Today was going to be incredible.

He had to dig through his trunk a bit before he found something casual to wear – apparently dress robes and textbooks were more likely to be used first than something comfortable for the weekend, according to his mother’s packing order, but Albus didn’t mind. At least he knew he had everything he needed.

Eventually he found some blue jeans and a plain white t-shirt to wear. He grabbed a long-sleeved, black and white checked shirt to wear over the top, too, hoping he wouldn’t need anything much warmer. Even if they were going on a tour, though, it was all one castle, wasn’t it? He decided Grimelda would probably warn them if they were going outside, and give them a chance to come back for an extra layer. He left a jumper at the top of his trunk just in case, so he could grab it quickly if need be.

It didn’t take long for the boys to get ready. They wandered out into the common room in pairs and threes, in search of Grimelda and the other first years. A handful of older students were already up – Al saw a couple of fifth-years in one corner, dressed in quidditch robes, having an animated discussion. He spotted Aruna on one of the sofas, and waved. They were sat with a couple of other second-year students Albus didn’t know, but they still gave a friendly smile back to him before returning to their conversation.

He also noticed the cats – he didn’t remember seeing them last night, but now they were everywhere. A large ginger one was prowling along the back of one of the sofas, a smaller grey one was curled up asleep in an armchair, and there were two near-identical black and white ones sat together under one of the tables. Al watched as the ginger one launched itself from the sofa and disappeared through one of the round windows, which spun gently to let the animal through before sealing itself back in its closed position. He smiled at that, and then found himself wondering where the toads were kept.

Grimelda was stood by the fireplace, with several first year girls lounging on the sofas nearby, waiting for everyone else to turn up. There was room next to Collette, so Al motioned Jacob to follow him and the two boys joined her on the sofa.

“Morning!” Collette said brightly. She was wearing muggle clothes too – a pair of loose dark brown jeans and a comfortable-looking baggy burgundy sweatshirt. Her hijab today was the same shade as her trousers, but with a narrow, intricate golden-yellow pattern running through it, nicely complementing the colours of the common room – a proud hint to her house, even when not wearing her school robes. Albus wondered whether she had guessed she would be Hufflepuff, or if it was a coincidence.

“Hi,” Al said. He looked between the two of them, and sorted the introductions; “Did you meet Jacob yesterday? This is Collette.”

His two friends grinned at each other and gave little awkward waves.

“So, what do we think’s going to happen today?” Collette wondered aloud.

The boys shrugged.

“I guess we’ll find out at breakfast. Grimelda said there would be activities or something…” Albus looked over to where the prefect was chatting with the portrait of Helga Hufflepuff. She was wearing her school robes again today, proudly displaying her prefect badge, but the first years and most of the older Hufflepuffs were in casual clothing.

“Yeah, and I think we might be getting a tour?” Jacob added uncertainly.

“I hope so,” Collette said. “I still don’t know why they don’t give us maps. Mum said you figure it out fairly quickly, but still…”

They sat chatting for a couple more minutes until all the first years had turned up, and then Grimelda herded them out of the common room and back upstairs to the Great Hall for breakfast.

The tables were already covered in food when they got there. Plates of sausages and eggs, bowls of different cereals, racks upon racks of toast made of three or four different kinds of bread, and jugs of everything from milk to fruit juice to tea and coffee. Albus couldn’t believe his eyes. _Would there be such a mountain of food to choose from every morning?_ It seemed incredible, but he wasn’t complaining.

Grimelda led them towards the long table they had been sat at for dinner last night, the third from the left. It was nominally the Hufflepuff table, but as Professor Goldstein had mentioned, unless it was for an important occasion the students seemed to sit wherever they liked. A pair of Ravenclaws in their school robes were sat at the Gryffindor table chatting to some students in muggle clothing. Three Gryffindors and a Slytherin in their quidditch robes were in heated discussion further up the Ravenclaw table, while a student in muggle clothes but wearing a blue school scarf was trying not to laugh at them. The Slytherin table was occupied by a few groups of students in casual clothes, and Hufflepuff had a handful of older students in their school robes sat together. Al suddenly realised Grimelda was leading the first years straight towards this group – these must be the other prefects.

“Hey, Grimmy!” The Hufflepuff prefects had noticed the gaggle of first years approaching, and one was apparently yelling this previously-unheard-of nickname at Grimelda.

“Alright, Jar!” she called back, grinning. She quickly glanced back at the children following her, and said “Please don’t call me that either. He just does it to wind me up. Melda, Elda, or El, or if you can’t remember, ask!”

She turned back and walked up to the four other Hufflepuffs already having breakfast, stopping beside the one who had shouted over to her.

“So, guys, these are our new Hufflepuffs!” Grimelda said brightly. The four of them smiled and gave little waves to the group.

“This is Jarrett,” Grimelda said, tousling the hair of the boy she had stopped next to. “He’s in sixth year like me. Then we have Kelly and Bently,” she gestured at the two students sat on the opposite side of the table. “They’re both fifth year, so they’re new prefects this year. And this is Henrietta, Head Girl for this year.” A witch with a sunflower pinned to the top of the plait running down her back waved from her seat on the far side of Jarrett.

“There is also Toby,” Grimelda added, “but he’s not here yet. He should be soon, though. He’s Head Boy this year.”

There was a pause for a second, and then Henrietta waved them over.

“Come and sit down and eat! We can talk you through what happens next over breakfast.”

Grimelda sat next to Jarrett, and a handful of first years joined her on the benches this side of the table. Al, Jacob, and Collette looked at each other, then quickly hurried down to the end of the table and round it, to sit on the other side, near the fifth-year prefects.

The breakfast feast was just as good as last night. Albus had been so full up with pudding that he didn’t think he was hungry, but he still managed to wolf down some scrambled eggs on toast and a small bowl of cornflakes. While he and the other new students were eating, Henrietta explained their plan for the day.

“First we’re going to go back to the common room and do some activities to get to know each other for a bit, and we’ll have a look at your timetables so you all know what you need to bring for each lesson. Then Toby and I are going to take you on a little tour around the school, so you can see how to get everywhere. By then it will probably be lunchtime, so we’ll drop anything you want to off in the dormitories, and go back to the Great Hall for food. Then you’ve got the rest of the afternoon free to do whatever you want!”

She beamed at them all, checking to see if anyone looked confused or uncertain.

“Any questions?”

“Um…” Collette had half-raised her hand to ask. “What sort of activities?”

“Oh, nothing scary, don’t worry,” Henrietta said comfortingly. “Mostly it’s just chatting, seeing what you guys are interested in, doing a few simple games. If there’s anything you don’t want to do, that’s absolutely fine, just let one of us know.”

Collette smiled and nodded, and Henrietta looked around to check if anyone else wanted to ask anything. No one did, so the group lapsed into chatter as they finished their breakfast.

As they ate, other students came and went around them. The four dressed in quidditch robes left, still talking agitatedly, while their Ravenclaw friend followed, now frowning as if trying to work something out. A couple of older students in muggle clothes hurried in and grabbed a pile of toast each and left, almost crashing into a group of Gryffindors in school robes as they went through the door.

A tall boy with dark brown hair and tawny skin led the group over to the Gryffindor table, talking and laughing loudly. Albus looked up at the noise, and immediately recognised his brother at the front of the pack. He tried to catch James’ eye, but either he was just oblivious to anything else around him, or he was purposefully avoiding looking at the Hufflepuff table. Al hoped it was the former, and tried not to let the latter possibility dampen his spirits – this was his first full day at Hogwarts, after all.

Collette and Jacob were discussing the practicalities of quidditch robes, and Albus happily joined in, trying to forget about his brother for the time being.

“I mean, I know it’s not until next year anyway, and I might not even get on the team, but…” Collette was saying, and Jacob was nodding enthusiastically.

“There must have been someone who had one before,” he replied “You should ask one of the teachers. Helga might know.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Collette nodded.

“What are you talking about?” Albus asked, realising he had missed something.

“My hijab,” Collette explained. “Do you know a quidditch player who has one?”

“Yeah,” Al said immediately. “There’s a witch in the Holyhead Harpies that wears one. And there used to be someone who played for the Chudley Cannons that had one too, only I think they’ve retired now.”

“Oh, cool,” said Jacob. “I didn’t know there was someone in the Cannons as well.”

“I meant at Hogwarts,” Collette clarified. “Mum never played for the team, and she doesn’t remember anyone else wearing one on pitch while she was here. I was wondering if you could buy one when you bought your quidditch robes, or if you had to do it separately. Do they do special sports ones? And for Hufflepuff, should it be black, yellow, or both?”

Albus frowned. He didn’t remember seeing one on display when he visited Quality Quidditch Supplies in Diagon Alley, but then he hadn’t been looking for one.

“You could ask one of the prefects,” he said, gesturing subtly down and across the table, to the group of older students they were sat next to. “And I’m sure if the Quidditch shop doesn’t do them, Madam Malkin will be happy to make you a special one. She has all sorts of fabrics and colours.”

At that moment, the prefects Al had just motioned towards erupted.

“Finally!”

“Long time, no see, Tobes!”

“Hey, how’ve you been?”

Another student had just approached the table, dressed in uniform with a badge pinned to his chest, like the others. This must be Toby, the elusive second Student Head of House. Albus thought his robes looked a bit too scruffy for him to be Head Boy, but the dirt under his long fingernails suggested that his unkempt look was probably more due to hard work in Herbology than a general disregard for his own appearance. Indeed, once he’d stopped by the others, he glanced down and seemed to realise how he looked for the first time. With a silent wave of the wand, a spell apparently perfected over constant usage, the mud on his clothes vanished and the fabric ironed itself into a more presentable shape.

“Everyone, this is Toby Long, Hufflepuff Head Boy,” Henrietta announced, to Toby’s awkward blushes. “He’s just as friendly as the rest of us, don’t worry, and he’s definitely the person to go to if you’re stuck on something in Herbology or Care of Magical Creatures.”

There was a smattering of greetings and waves, and Toby sat down between the fifth year prefects and Collette. The older students started talking rapidly to the newcomer, apparently not having seen him yet at all this year, and Al and his friends returned to their previous conversation.

“If Quidditch Supplies doesn’t do one,” Jacob said thoughtfully, “you could get them to. You should petition them. There must be loads of players out there that would want sports hijabs, and they’re probably just using normal ones. If you made it out of special fabric, or charmed so they wouldn’t fall off even if you were doing flips and all sorts, I bet loads of people would want one. You could design it with Madam Malkin, and then either get her to sell them, or sell the pattern to Quidditch Supplies and get them to sell it!”

“Or get a Ravenclaw to help,” Albus suggested. “They’re clever _and_ creative, aren’t they? They could design it for you.”

“Yeah,” Jacob said, stifling a laugh. “And if we rope a Slytherin in, we could start a whole business around it!”

Collette giggled at the thought.

“Yeah, maybe,” she grinned. “Or I could just wear a burkini under my robes.”

The boys looked confused, so she explained the concept to them. As they discussed whether the extra layers would be an issue or not, or whether they could just find a way of magically incorporating the top half into the school quidditch robes, there came a screech from overhead.

The students looked up to see several owls come soaring into the Great Hall, holding letters or rolls of parchment. Albus quickly spotted his barn owl, Casper, among them, and smiled. But the bird didn’t go to him immediately – first he glided over to the Gryffindor table, and dropped an envelope neatly next to James. Al smiled at his brother’s surprised face, and as James followed the path of the bird’s flight, for a second his bright brown eyes met Albus’ vivid green ones. Albus smiled again, and for an instant he saw James give a weak half-smile back, before quickly turning to look at the message he had been sent from home. Casper landed next to Al and offered him a similar envelope. The Hufflepuff Potter stroked his owl’s feathers affectionately, and decided half a smile was better than none at all.

Another bird, a large eagle owl, had landed next to Collette, holding three separate letters. It took off again as soon as she’d taken them, and Al wondered whether it was her own bird or a school-owned one. He couldn’t remember whether she’d mentioned it or not.

Jacob had received a tube-shaped package, which he unwrapped to reveal a long piece of parchment from his parents, and a rolled-up sporting magazine with the captains of the top five quidditch teams in the premier league on the front.

Several other students along the table had also received post. They were all opening it excitedly, though some looked as though they were steeling themselves – they didn’t want to cry when they hadn’t even been here a full day yet.

Albus gave Casper one more scratch on the back of his head, then asked him to go and wait in the common room.

“When I come in, remind me I need to write a letter to Teddy. Have you got enough rest, or should I send a school owl to do it?”

Casper ruffled his feathers proudly, and Al grinned.

“Fair enough. This should be the last one for a bit, though, so you’ll get a break soon. Thank you. See you in a minute.”

The owl took off silently and left the way he had come.

Al opened the envelope carefully, slightly nervous about what it contained. He read it slowly, focusing on every word, whilst those around him were distracted by their own post.

_Dear Albus,_

_Congratulations on Hufflepuff! We’re so happy you’ve found a place that’s right for you, and we hope that you’ll have a wonderful time there._

_I’m glad you are enjoying Hogwarts – it’s always so magical experiencing things for the first time (sorry, insert ‘amazing’ there – I forget everything has always been magical for you, so it’s probably got less meaning as a descriptor!). Hope you had a good first night, and that you do lots of exploring this weekend._

_It’s so good you’ve made friends already, and it’s probably nice that you will have more than just your cousins to spend evenings and weekends with. Make the most of the space!_

_Lily’s asleep at the moment, but I’m sure she’ll be pleased to hear from you, and she’ll want to say congratulations and send her love too. We won’t send out our owl until we know Teddy’s heard – I’m sure he’ll be very excited! We haven’t heard from James yet (don’t worry!), but we’ve sent him a little note with Casper too. I hope he’s not teasing you too much about not being Gryffindor – believe us when we say it doesn’t matter, as long as you are happy, and you should be._

_Enjoy Hufflepuff, and have fun this weekend. Make the most of your lessons, and I sure you will have learnt a lot by Christmas! We can’t wait to hear about everything that you get up to – remember to write, however often you like._

_We both love you so much._

_From Dad and Mum xxx_

Al smiled at his dad’s little notes and exclamations, and felt an immense sense of gratitude rise up in his chest. He tried not to let it spill over, worried he would start crying, but right at that moment he felt so happy to be there, and yet at the same time so incredibly homesick. He just wanted to hug both of them, but they were miles and miles away.

He took a moment, staring unseeing at the letter until he was sure the tears were safely away, then read it through again. They were happy for him, they genuinely didn’t mind that he wasn’t Gryffindor, that he was Hufflepuff, that he was happy there.

He wondered what James’ letter said. He looked up to see his brother’s face, but the elder Potter’s letter was already discarded on the table, and he was laughing and joking with his friends again. Albus wondered whether James had looked over and tried to catch his eye after he’d read his letter, when Al was still reading. Maybe. Perhaps.

Albus carefully folded the piece of parchment and put it back in its envelope. He pocketed it, resolving to put it somewhere safe as soon as he got back to the common room. Perhaps he should use one of the drawers in his bedside table to keep letters from home in.

The others at the table had mostly finished reading their post, too. Jacob was still flicking through the sports magazine, and he started point out pages to his friends.

“I’ve never played gobstones before. I feel like the people that play it probably take it too seriously, but I still kind of want to give it a go. I like wizard’s chess, though. Do they have a club here for that? I might join.”

“Yeah, they do. I think my cousin Rose wanted to join it. She and her dad play all the time. She’s really good.” The conversation felt natural, and the wave of homesickness slowly withdrew. This was home now, and Albus was glad of it.

Soon everyone had finished eating, and the prefects led the way back to the common room. Al had learnt this route already – he only hoped he would soon know the rest of the castle so well.

They were given a few minutes to sort themselves out once they got there. Casper caught his eye and squawked softly as he came in, and Albus nodded in remembrance of what he was planning to do. He followed the rest of the boys into their dormitory to put away his letter from home, then hurried back out into the common room to scrawl a quick letter to Teddy. Casper eyed him from the tree perch, and bobbed in appreciation when Al sat down to write.

_Hi Teddy!_ he scribbled quickly.

_Sorry I didn’t get a chance to send this last night, but hopefully you’ve not been waiting too long. I’m having a great time at Hogwarts, it’s absolutely amazing here, and everything is wonderful. I’ve made some friends already, and we’re going to do some activities and have a tour today, so there’s a lot to do! I can’t wait to start my lessons, but I hope I don’t get too much homework!_

_So, the bit of news I know you want to hear. In case you didn’t guess yet, I’m not a Gryffindor. I wanted to tell you personally, because I knew you’d be excited – I’m a Hufflepuff too!_

_It might be a bit of a surprise for the rest of the family, but I hope they don’t mind. I’m glad I’m not the only one of all of us who’s in a different house. Let me know if there are any Hufflepuff secrets you’ve been keeping from the others!_

_Got to go now, but I’ll try and write soon. Hope you’re good, and say hi to your gran for me._

_Love Al x_

He addressed an envelope and carefully slid the parchment in. Al hoped Teddy would be pleased. It would be nice to have someone in the family to talk to when he needed it.

He sealed the letter and trotted over to give it to Casper. The barn owl bobbed once at him, then disappeared through one of the little circular windows, now filled with streaming sunlight.

Albus turned to observe the rest of the room. A few older students were scattered around as before, most staring at large pieces of parchment in their hands and pointing at them to show their friends. Grimelda was sat at a desk with several piles of those sheets in front of her, handing them over to students as they came over. _The timetables_ , Al guessed. He was interested to know what lesson he would have first, but they weren’t getting theirs yet – he’d have to wait until after the activities, Henrietta had said.

The rest of the prefects and the two Student Heads of House were stood by the fire, where the first years were gathering on the various sofas and chairs dotted around. Helga wasn’t in her frame for a change, which made the painting look oddly empty. Al made his way over to Jacob and the other boys, who were looking around, noticing things they hadn’t taken in last night. Albus pointed out the badgers round the fireplace to them, and Jacob giggled.

A minute later, Collette appeared from one of the round doors with another girl, and the two of them sat down with a couple of other students from their dormitory. Henrietta did a head count, and decided that was all of them.

“Right,” she announced. “Activity time. This way!”

The new students stood up, and she led them towards the circular door Grimelda had said led to ‘other rooms’ last night. Al assumed they weren’t going to crash anyone’s dormitory, so he wondered what else there was beyond the door.

He didn’t need to wait long to find out. The little dirt room beyond was almost identical to the one the boys’ dormitories led off from, but with fewer doors. Henrietta led them through the fourth door of five, and the space opened up into a room about the shape and size of a classroom, albeit with a ceiling as low as the one in the Hufflepuff common room. Here the floors were wooden rather than made of compacted soil, and the walls had been plastered.

The space was open, with a large, empty area in the middle of the floor. Around the edges, tables and chairs had been folded away and stacked, and a large cupboard at the far end looked big enough to hold all sort of random things, but Al had no idea what they might be. It looked like Helga had prepared something for every eventuality when she was building her house’s part of the school – this room could be used for all sorts of things.

Once everyone was inside, Toby shut the door behind them, and Henrietta instructed them to each grab a chair and sit in a circle in the middle of the room. Jacob sat next to Albus, and Collette’s friend sat on Al’s other side. She was introduced as Daisy, and he remembered the name from the Sorting Ceremony – she’d been sorted just before him. She seemed quite shy and nervous; she had pulled her long sleeves down over her hands, was constantly readjusting her glasses but avoiding eye contact, and kept glancing over at Collette on her other side for support.

The prefects joined them as part of the circle, while the Student Heads stood in its centre, calmly waiting for everyone to sort themselves out.

“Ok, then, everyone,” Henrietta said brightly. “First we’re going to quickly go around the circle and tell each other our names, and a fun fact. It can be something as simple as how many siblings you have, if you can’t think of anything interesting. Do you have family that are a different nationality? Do you have family in a different house? Have you got a parent with an unusual job? Anything like that.”

She looked around at the circle of upturned faces, and noted a few students were shifting uncomfortably.

“We won’t mind if your fact isn’t particularly interesting, or if it’s a thing lots of people will have. What animal did you bring with you to Hogwarts? What wood or core is your wand? Are you left handed, right handed, or ambidextrous? Honestly, it can be anything, don’t worry too much about it. Oh, and if anyone’s got any particular pronouns they want us to use, now would be a good time to say it, too.”

She looked at Toby to see if there was anything else, and he shrugged.

“Right, I’ll start. My name is Henrietta Mason, I use she/her pronouns, and my fun fact is that my Hogwarts pet is a cat named Chewbacca.” She motioned to Toby, and he went next.

“Hi, I’m Toby Long, and my mum’s Swedish. He/his.”

The prefects went next. Kelly McCarthy was left-handed for writing, but found spell casting easier in her right hand. Jarrett Walsh’s dad used to be an Unspeakable, but he left and was obliviated as per policy; he now spent most of his time gardening. Bently O’Connell’s great-aunt was a seer.

Then it was the turn of the first years.

A girl with short, spiky, white-blonde hair introduced herself as Urszula Jones. “Everyone in my family has a different house. My brother’s a Gryffindor, mum is Slytherin, and matka is a Ravenclaw. And obviously I’m Hufflepuff. And both my parents are muggleborn, so we’re the only ones with houses, and we’re all one of each.”

Jacob’s fact was that he was named after Jacob Erland, who was a relative of his parents who disappeared during the Second Wizarding War. Albus didn’t recognise the name, but he knew the war had been tough on wizarding families. He gave his friend a supportive half-smile, the type you give to grieving relatives at funerals to check they’re ok. Jacob smiled back, but shrugged; he’d never known his namesake.

Albus decided that his fact should be his Hogwarts pet. He wasn’t the first or only person in his family to be a different house, thanks to Rose. He didn’t have family that were a different nationality, unless you went as far back as his great- or great-great-grandparents. And something told him some people already knew more about his family than they were letting on, so he decided against mentioning his siblings and parents.

“Hi, I’m Albus Potter, and I brought a barn owl to school with me called Casper, short for Caspian.” He smiled nervously around at the others. “Oh, and it’s he/his,” he added.

Daisy Perks was next.

“My dad’s a firefighter, which means he helps other muggles stop fires in their homes with water, and gets people out of their houses when there’s too much smoke, because they don’t have magic to stop it.”

Several of the students, including a couple of the older ones, looked impressed by this information.

Collette’s fact was that she was the daughter of a witch and a squib. She smiled at the one or two surprised faces, and calmly requested she/her pronouns.

The few other students that hadn’t spoken yet took their turns as Toby left the circle to grab another chair.

“Right,” Henrietta said, as soon as the last person had finished. “Now we’ve got to know each other a little better, we’re going to do a quick game. It’s really easy, so don’t worry, you’ll soon get the hang of it.”

A couple of students moved their chairs sideways slightly to let Toby fit the new one in between. Henrietta sat down in it.

“So, how it works is one person stands in the middle,” she gestured to Toby, who waved. “And they say something that other people in the circle have in common, and then the people it refers to have to swap seats. Whoever doesn’t manage to find a seat is the new person in the middle, and they have to come up with something to say. For example…” she gestured at Toby again.

“Swap seats if you’re a Student Head of House,” he said loudly. Henrietta obligingly stood up, but having no other seat to run to, stood in the centre as Toby sat on her chair.

“Obviously you can’t sit down on the same seat you just stood up from, and it makes it more fun if you try to go for a chair opposite you in the circle, rather than right next to you. Everyone got it?”

They gave it a few trial runs before the students got the hang of it.

“Swap if you’re wearing jeans!”

“Swap seats if you have brown hair!”

“Swap if you own an owl!”

The first years quickly got into the game, and people were enthusiastic about thinking of new things to say.

“Swap if you like chocolate!”

“Swap if you’ve ever eaten a spinach Bertie Bott’s!”

“SWAP IF YOU’RE HUFFLEPUFF!”

The last one was chaos, and everyone fell about laughing at the end. Henrietta had ended up in the middle again, and once the students had calmed down, she beamed at everyone.

“Well, I’m glad you all enjoyed that,” she said warmly. “Now, next thing we’re going to do a clapping game. I just want to warn you to be gentle – we did this with a few other houses before and there was a tendency for some to get a little too enthusiastic. Remember it’s clapping, not hitting. Usually we don’t have many problems here, but I just want to make sure.”

She instructed them to lay their hands palm-up, each laying their right hand on top of the left hand of the person sitting next to them.

“Now, there’s a little rhyme that you have to say as you do this. On each beat, you clap your right hand onto the left hand of the person next to you. Like this.”

As she recited the tune, she clapped her hands in time to the rhythm:

> **Dow** n in the **for** est where **no** body **goes** ,  
>  There’s a **big** old **cen** taur and he’s **pick** ing his **nose** ,  
>  And he **picks** it and he **flicks** it and **no** body **knows**  
>  Who’s going to get that, who’s going to get that,  
>  Who’s going to get that slimy **snot**!

There were a couple of concealed giggles amongst the first years.

“Once you get to ‘who’s going to get that’, you don’t have to go with the rhythm anymore, you just pass it on as quickly as possible, because whoever is the last to get clapped when we reach ‘snot’ is out. If you know there’s no chance you can clap the next person’s hand before the end of the song, you can instead move your hand out the way of the person who’s about to clap you, but only at the very end. Got it?”

The first years nodded, some a little more confidently than others. Henrietta assured them there would be a couple of practice rounds before anyone was sent out, just to make sure everyone got the hang of the game.

The prefects started off the clapping, singing louder than the rest so the first years could learn the words. By the time ‘who’s going to get that’ came around, a few people forgot you were allowed to speed up. Albus got the snot on the second round, and Jacob on the third. After that, the game was played properly, with people going out and the circle getting smaller each time.

Toby either wasn’t very good at the game or was purposely too slow to make sure none of the first years were first to go out. A couple of new students got the snot after that, and then Jacob was the first of Al’s friends to leave, followed by Urszula, who was sat next to Albus now. Each time students left the circle, they started clapping in time and loudly singing the words, stood behind the rest of the competitors.

A few of prefects went out, then Daisy, and then Al and Collette were the only first years left in.

“Who’s going to get that slimy _snot_!” the students chanted, and then it was Al’s turn to move his chair away. The only ones left now were Collette, Jarrett, and Bently.

“Who’s going to get that, who’s going to get that, Who’s going to get that slimy _snot_!” Collette lost, and then it was just the two prefects, sat opposite each other, grinning and gearing up for fierce competition.

“Who’s going to get that, who’s going to get that, Who’s going to get that slimy _snot_!” Bently lost, and Jarrett jumped in the air, pumping his fist and cheering. Bently and the rest were laughing, everyone enjoying the competition without taking it too seriously.

James and Jarrett would get on, Al thought. But they wouldn’t be able to play a game like this without James winning at least some of the time. Whereas Jarrett celebrated victory playfully, James meant it, and would get frustrated if he kept losing. _That’s the difference between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor_ , he decided. Hufflepuffs knew when a game was just a game; for Gryffindors, everything became a serious competition.

They played the game a few more times, and then Henrietta disappeared out of the room to collect the students’ timetables. Toby got them to rearrange to discarded chairs back into a circle, and asked if anyone had any burning questions about the day ahead while they waited for the Head Girl to return.

Albus remembered his question from earlier.

“Are we going outside later? Will we need a coat or a jumper or something?”

“Yeah, we will be. We’re going to show you all round the school, and it’s not all in the same building, so you might want an extra layer. But it’s not that bad today, you don’t need gloves and scarves or anything. Just a jumper should be fine.”

The children started talking amongst themselves, and as Al joined in with Jacob and Collette, he noticed Daisy speaking quietly to Toby. He tried to listen without making it obvious he was eavesdropping – it wasn’t that he was being nosy, he told himself. He just wanted to make sure she was ok.

“Yeah, Henri and I wondered that exact thing,” Toby was saying. “But there’s a centaur that lives in the forest, he used to teach Divination here, and when we were in first year he sometimes came up to the castle. We went and asked him one time, because we were worried it might be rude, but I think he found the song quite… amusing.”

Albus wondered what a centaur’s laugh sounded like, then realised by the way Toby had said it that he probably hadn’t actually laughed out loud.

“We were worried he would find it offensive, but he just said everyone picks their nose, including centaurs. He said he’d be happy for us to say the song was about him if anyone asked, and that way it would be ok, because he’s ‘definitely old, and definitely picks his nose’. His words, not mine!”

Daisy smiled shyly and nodded.

“Does he still come up to the castle? What was his name?”

“Firenze,” Toby said, smiling fondly. “Yeah, he still does sometimes, only not very often now. He’s getting quite old, I think, and he was badly injured in the war, so he still limps a bit. A few of the others come up every now and again as well – it’s Firenze who got them to be on better terms with the school, actually. The other centaurs used to hate humans. But most of them, especially the younger ones, are very friendly now.”

Daisy smiled at Toby and thanked him for answering her questions.

Al turned back to Jacob and Collette, and realised they were both looking at him.

“What was that about?” Jacob asked quietly, concern crossing his face. Collette was watching her friend fiddle with cleaning her glasses, and listened intently as Albus responded.

“I think she was just asking if the centaur song was offensive. Apparently there’s an older one called Firenze who they asked if it was ok, and he said yes. And apparently the centaurs sometimes come up to the school and talk to students.”

“Oh, cool, I didn’t know that,” Jacob said.

“That was thoughtful of her,” Collette said quietly. The boys nodded gravely – they hadn’t even thought of whether the song might be rude or not.

After a moment, Henrietta re-entered with the timetables, and called everyone by name to give them out. The first years scanned the pieces of parchment, looking out for the subjects they were interested in, and identifying which they would learn to hate purely because they were at 9am.

Albus read his table carefully. First lesson on a Monday, double Transfiguration with Professor M. Corner. Then a break, then double Potions with Professor M. Preece. Then lunch, and then History of Magic that afternoon with Professor I. Switch, followed by Defence Against the Dark Arts with Professor A. Goldstein. That must be Deputy Head Goldstein, Albus thought, remembering the friendly wizard who had introduced them to Hogwarts last night. He hoped lessons with him would be fun – he remembered him mum saying she enjoyed that sort of thing at school.

Flying lessons weren’t until after morning break on Wednesdays, but it was a double-period lesson, which was good. They had another Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson on Friday first thing, this time a double, and again as a single on Thursday afternoons. Al counted up, and figured out each of the main subjects had four blocks attached to it, whether in singles or doubles, except Flying, which only had the one double period, and Astronomy, which only filled three spaces. The remaining square on his parchment, on Wednesday morning first thing, was blank.

Another student got there first.

“Why is Wednesday 9am empty?”

“Oh, that’s because of Astronomy,” Toby explained. “On Tuesday night, you’ve got double Astronomy, but if you look the times are different – ten-thirty until twelve-thirty. That’s because it’s a practical lesson, so you have to be up there at night. They give you the first lesson off the next morning so you get a bit of a lie-in to make up for it.”

“It looks like you’ve got Astronomy again straight after that, too,” Jarrett pointed out, leaning over the back of Urszula’s chair to look. “So you’ll probably spend Wednesday morning writing up and going over what you saw the night before.”

“Any other questions?” Kelly asked.

The students shook their heads. Albus noted that Neville would be teaching them Herbology on Thursday mornings and Wednesday afternoons. He hoped it wouldn’t be too awkward being taught by someone he knew outside of school, but James seemed to have managed the last couple of years.

“We’ll make sure to point out each classroom you have lessons in when we do the tour,” Kelly continued, “And remember, if you ever get lost on your way somewhere, just ask! There are plenty of students and teachers and portraits that would be happy to direct you – only it’s probably best not to ask Peeves. The rest of the ghosts are fine, but he’s more likely to point you the wrong way or drop an ink-bomb on your head than actually help.”

After a minute, Henrietta got their attention again, and they started discussing which lessons they were excited or nervous about.

“I’m really looking forward to Transfiguration,” Jacob said. Daisy nodded in agreement, but Urszula shook her head.

“That’s the one I’m most nervous for,” she said. “Mum said it was one of the harder ones to get the hang of.”

“I think it just depends on the type of magic you’re good at,” Bently said. “Some people can do Transfiguration and Charms really well, but can’t do Astronomy to save their life. Some people can do Potions excellently, but are completely stumped about where their ingredients come from or how to grow them.”

The other prefects nodded.

“My favourite’s Herbology,” Toby said. “And then Care of Magical Creatures, but you don’t get to do that this year. It just depends what sort of magic you’re suited to.”

The conversation moved on. Albus mentioned Flying lessons, and most of the students were enthusiastic in their responses.

“I can’t wait to start learning properly. I’d love to try out for the quidditch team next year, if I’m good enough!”

Daisy piped up nervously: “I’m just worried I might not be able to get down. I’ve never been on a broom before, so I might be scared of heights.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much about that,” Jarrett said. “You’ll only make yourself too nervous to try. Professor Staunton’s really good, she takes it all step by step, and she’s so quick on a broom she’ll get you back to the ground before you’ve even finished saying ‘get me down’!”

There were a couple of giggles, but Toby was nodding gravely. Daisy looked slightly comforted by what Jarrett had said.

They went around the circle, mentioning every subject on their timetables, and making sure everyone knew what each lesson was about, and then Henrietta got them all to put the chairs away.

“We’ll give you a couple of minutes to grab jumpers and put away your timetables if you want to, or if you’d rather hang onto them that’s fine, and then we’re going to go on a quick tour,” she said, and led the way back to the common room.

The other prefects weren’t coming with them on the tour, so they waved goodbye. Al watched Jarrett go over to Grimelda’s desk, where she was still handing out timetables, and sit down next to her, saying something that made her laugh. Kelly and Bently headed off towards their respective dormitories.

Albus decided to keep his timetable with him, folding it up to put in his pocket, but went back to his dormitory with a few of the others to grab the jumper he’d set aside earlier. It didn’t take long until everyone was ready, and then Toby led the way out of the common room to explore the rest of the castle.

The tour took the rest of the morning – they went all around the castle, along the main corridors, up the stairs of the Astronomy Tower, outside to the greenhouses, and around to the quidditch pitch and training grounds. Toby pointed out the routes to the Owlery and the Boathouse, but they didn’t go down to them because it would have taken too long.

Whenever they went past a classroom that was on their timetables, Henrietta stopped the group and got them to take a look around so they could see where they were meant to be. The Dungeons for Potions, Greenhouse 2 for Herbology, the Charms Classroom, History of Magic…

By lunchtime Albus was starving from all the walking and clambering up and down stairs, so he was pleased to see they were heading back to the common room. Halfway down the Hufflepuff corridor, though, Henrietta stopped them again, and gathered them round in a secretive huddle.

“Now, a couple of you probably already know this from family members, but this is a very important painting,” she said in hushed tones. The children looked up at her, wide-eyed. Albus looked sideways at the artwork the group had stopped by. It didn’t _look_ important – it wasn’t even one of the usual magic portraits, just a still-life of a bowl of fruit.

“Not many students in the school know about this, but every Hufflepuff does, because it was our very own Helga that started this whole thing up.” She straightened, and moved closer to the painting.

The students all moved so that they could see. Henrietta reached out, and gently tickled a small green pear to one side of the painting.

A loud giggling sounded. At first, Albus thought it must have been one of the other children, since this sight was so strange – a Student Head of House tickling a painting of a pear. But then the pear started wriggling, and he realised it was the piece of fruit itself making the noise.

Before the students’ eyes, the pear turned into a bright green doorknob. Henrietta twisted it, and the whole painting swung open – a secret door.

Toby led the way through, the first years entering after him with astonished faces, and Henrietta bringing up the rear. Inside was a huge room – the exact shape and size, Albus noticed immediately, as the Great Hall, which must, now he thought of it, be directly above them.

And the room was swarming with activity. Five long tables, the exact dimensions and positions as the four House tables and Head table in the room above, were being filled with plates and bowls of food, and jugs of drink. Bread, meat, salad, Scotch eggs, crisps and dips and all sorts of delicious-looking food. Around the edges of the room were pots and pans of all shapes and sizes, cupboards and worktops, several massive ovens and stoves, two huge sinks, and an enormous fire in the wall directly opposite the doorway.

The workers – who were lifting the dishes onto the table, slicing bread and meat for sandwiches, and dicing up vegetables for the salads – were all house-elves. Albus had never seen one in person before, but he knew well enough what they were. His father had told him all about the house-elf he had been friends with while he was at Hogwarts, and they’d been to visit his grave at Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur’s house a couple of times.

A few of the elves looked up when the students entered, and returned Henrietta’s waves before getting back to work. The children watched in silence as the tables were laden with lunch, and then stared in amazement as the food disappeared, magically transferred to the tables in the room above. The house-elves continued to work, getting more food ready for when the plates and bowls upstairs started to empty.

After a couple of minutes, Toby gestured back towards the door, and they all filed out into the corridor again.

“So, that’s the kitchen,” he said, once the door was shut behind them. The pear had settled back into its usual painted shape.

“If you ever end up missing a meal for whatever reason, or you’re feeling a bit homesick and want some hot chocolate and someone to talk to, or you’d just like a snack, this is the place to go.”

“The house-elves are really lovely,” Henrietta added. “And they’ve got some great stories to tell. Obviously they’re quite busy around mealtimes, but the rest of the time they’re quite happy to chat. Oh, _and_ ” she lowered her voice again, telling them all a great secret. “Students aren’t allowed out of bed at night, but everyone’s allowed to be in their House Common Rooms as well as the dormitories, and for Hufflepuffs, that extends to the rest of this corridor, too. So if you ever can’t sleep, or you fancy a midnight feast, you know where to go.” She grinned broadly.

“None of the other Houses are allowed that, and most don’t even know where the kitchens are,” Toby said, nodding. “Just remember to always be polite and thank the house-elves for their time – not that I think you wouldn’t, but it’s always worth mentioning.”

The group carried on down the corridor and stopped off at the common room so people could grab or put away anything they needed to, and have a chance to go to the toilet before lunch. Albus was excited about the kitchen revelation – that was definitely something he’d have to try out. He didn’t remember either of his parents talking about the kitchen, but if his dad had known one of the elves that worked there, perhaps there would still be others here who remembered him.

Collette and Daisy were chatting with Urszula in the common room once Al had put his timetable away, and they waved to him as they left. Albus waited for Jacob to finish in the loo, and then they went up to lunch together, talking animatedly about all they’d seen and discovered that morning.

Hogwarts was shaping up to be just as amazing as Albus had hoped.

***

_Sunlight streamed through the kitchen windows, filling the room with a warm light that echoed the colour of the turning leaves outside. Sunbeams danced off the polished wooden floorboards, and glinted in the silver of the spoon Andromeda was stirring her drink with, sat at the kitchen table._

_The witch was gazing absently into the air, enjoying the peace, but waiting for it to be broken. Not long now. She could hear faint movement upstairs, and smiled to herself._

_The spoon left the mug and floated itself across the room and into the sink. She’d wash it later, when there were a few more items to do. She enjoyed washing up – it was one of the few things she did the muggle way, even though it was easier with magic. She’d enjoyed watching Ted do it at home with his family – something normal, down-to-earth, something practical and useful, working with your hands to produce a real result. It was satisfying, but also soothing somehow. The motion was therapeutic, and it allowed her to think. She liked having that time to herself._

_A moment later and the silence was finally broken. There was the rapid thump of feet on the stairs, and then a brightly-coloured shape whizzed into the room and collapsed into a chair next to her._

_“Has the post come yet?” Teddy asked, his vibrantly turquoise hair sticking up at odd angles. He clearly hadn’t brushed it._

_Andromeda smiled indulgently._

_“No, not yet.”_

_Teddy groaned dramatically, throwing his head back in the chair and staring at the ceiling._

_“I just want to_ know _! The waiting is awful! How do you cope?”_

_He raised his head at the last sentence, and stared straight into his grandmother’s eyes. His were a vivid, glittering green today, she noted. She wondered vaguely if that had in any way been a conscious decision or not._

_“I’ve done a lot of waiting in my time, Teddy, I’m used to it,” she said, restraining herself from smiling. “I’m old now, you know. I’ve been through worse. Back in my day…”_

_Teddy groaned even louder and threw his head back again, leaning the chair away from the table and balancing on just its two back legs._

_“You’re not even that old,” he told the ceiling grumpily. “What are you, sixty?”_

_“Thereabouts,” Andromeda said, grinning._

_“There you go then. Far too young to be saying ‘back in my day’.”_

_“How old do I have to be before I can say that?”_

_“Oh, I don’t know. Eighty? Ninety? How old’s McGonagall now? Older than her. I bet she doesn’t say it.”_

_Andromeda smiled in the direction of her grandson, hovering in the air, apparently held up only by two chair legs. He was wearing a white t-shirt with some band name scrawled across it in artistically-faded print, his sky-blue skinny jeans a similarly washed-out shade that only made his hair and eyes stand out more. She liked having Teddy around – he always made the house seem full, more lively and awake. It was far too big and empty when she was alone, sometimes._

_He abruptly swung the chair back to the floor and flopped himself onto the kitchen table, resting his head on one hand. With the other, he produced his wand from the back pocket of his jeans, and levitated a couple of slices of bread out of the breadbin and into the toaster._

_Teddy wasn’t one for long silences, though._

_“D’you think they’ll both be Gryffindor again?” He rubbed the back of his neck absent-mindedly, fingers reaching down to touch the edge of his tattoo. This mark in his skin was a reminder of his father, another Gryffindor. Teddy was happy with his house, of course, but he was still aware of being the odd one out to a certain extent. That was why he liked his grandmother’s house – it was all Hufflepuff and Slytherin, no real rivalry. Not being Gryffindor wasn’t strange here._

_Andromeda picked up her mug and sipped, thinking it over._

_“Maybe,” she said. “Maybe not. Sometimes it’s hard to tell.” She had her suspicions, but she kept them to herself – she didn’t want to get Teddy’s hopes up too much, just in case._

_“Surely they can’t_ all _be Gryffindors, though?”_

_“Why not?”_

_“I don’t know, probability? I know they’re all raised in the same family and whatever, but that doesn’t mean they all have to have the same personality traits. They don’t all_ have _to be Gryffindor, do they?”_

_“No, perhaps not.” She sipped her drink again. “Which houses do you think they’ll be, then? If not Gryffindor?”_

_Teddy sat up at the question, then leaned forwards eagerly to answer._

_“I’m not sure about Rose, she’s probably loud enough to be Gryffindor, and she’s so much like both her parents, and they both ended up there. But, you know, Albus…_ He _might be…”_

_“Might be what?” Andromeda often enjoyed Teddy’s dramatic spin on life. When he was living with her it had sometimes got exhausting, but now he had moved out it was more of a rarity, and she enjoyed playing along._

_“You know. The_ best _house.”_

_“Oh, of course, Slytherin.” Andromeda’s dark eyes flashed teasingly at her grandson, a challenge as well as an assertion of pride for her old house._

_“_ Gran _!”_

_The older witch giggled, and Teddy couldn’t help but grin too._

_“I meant Hufflepuff,” he clarified, lifting his chin in mock defiance._

_“Well, that’s not what you said,” Andromeda said playfully._

_Teddy rolled his emerald, ironically Slytherin-coloured, eyes. His breakfast popped up out of the toaster, and he summoned it over with a plate, some jam, and a knife. He set to work on it, spreading and slicing by hand rather than magic._

_“Do you think I might be right, though? Do you think he could be Hufflepuff?”_

_Andromeda looked over at her grandson, watching him eat, and took another sip from her mug._

_“Yes, I suppose he could be,” she said after a pause. It was what she thought he would be, though she wasn’t certain. “I certainly don’t think he’ll be Slytherin.”_

_“Apparently James has been teasing him that he will be all summer,” Teddy said._

_“Who told you that?” Andromeda said, frowning._

_“Victoire. And Louis. And I think Roxanne mentioned it too.”_

_“Hmm.”_

_Teddy looked up at her and noticed the creased forehead._

_“You should talk to him. Maybe he’d listen to you. I know he wouldn’t bother listening to me.”_

_“He might,” she said, eyebrows pinching. “Why wouldn’t he? You’re like an older brother to him, I thought?”_

_Teddy shrugged._

_“A Hufflepuff one. I don’t know, it’s probably just a James-phase, but he’s taking the houses thing really seriously at the moment. I think it’s because he wants to be on the quidditch team, it’s just suddenly made him really competitive. He’s been teasing Albus about Slytherin, and obviously jokes from the parents don’t help, and the fact that I’m the only one in the whole lot of them that’s not Gryffindor.” He sighed, long and deep, and grabbed another slice of toast to chew on._

_“How long does it take an owl to fly here from Hogwarts?” he mumbled through a mouthful. Andromeda arched an eyebrow at him, and he quickly swallowed and repeated the question, with an added apology._

_“I’m not sure, I’ve never timed it,” she replied. “I would expect it to arrive around lunchtime, though, so any time now, but then that depends on what time they actually got up today. Try to be patient. We’ll find out soon enough.”_

_He sat back in his chair, munching thoughtfully on the toast._

_After a few minutes, Teddy had finished his toast and Andromeda her drink. She stacked the washing up by the sink without leaving her chair, and Teddy practiced levitating the jam back into its cupboard non-verbally. He was getting rather good at it, Andromeda thought. That was just the sort of skill you had to practice._

_He got up to go upstairs, and Andromeda began staring off into space again. She was remembering her own time at Hogwarts – the lessons, the grounds, the teachers, the pupils. The common room – or rather both common rooms, since she ended up spending a fair amount of time in Hufflepuff’s as well as her own._ Ted _. She wasn’t one for crying much, especially after everything that had happened. But it still hurt, even almost twenty years later._

_A tap at the window jolted her out of her reverie._

_Somehow Teddy had heard it from upstairs, and he had raced down before she even reached the window to let the bird in._

_“Who’s that?” Teddy asked eagerly, not recognising the owl._

_“This, I believe, is Casper,” Andromeda said, taking the letter the bird offered her, and glancing at the envelope. Her dark eyes darted up to meet Teddy’s. “Albus’ owl.”_

_Teddy’s face drained of colour, as did his hair, suddenly going a shocking white. She held out the letter to him, and he stared at the name scrawled on it for a moment – his name. Albus had sent Teddy a letter, directly, the day after his Sorting._

_He tore the envelope open and his eyes raced through the words on the page, devouring the letter’s contents. Andromeda watched from the window, gently petting Casper as her grandson found out the prized information before she did._

_Teddy’s hair started cycling through the colours of the rainbow, everything from bright orange to deep brown to lilac, before finally settling on Hufflepuff yellow. He re-read the letter again, and then looked up at his grandmother, eyes bright and gold and shining, mouth slightly open in shock and delight._

_Andromeda smiled at him._

_“Good news, then?”_

_Teddy nodded vigorously, apparently unable to speak for a moment, and offered her the letter. She scanned it through quickly, her eyes pausing for a moment on the key word, ‘Hufflepuff’, before trying to glean anything else she could from the few words on the page._

_“He doesn’t say anything about Rose,” she noted._

_“No,” Teddy said, finally able to speak again. “I suppose he wants her to be able to break the news to everyone else herself.”_

_Andromeda shrugged and nodded. That made sense, she supposed. But it could also mean there was nothing to tell. Would he have hinted at it if there was anything unusual there? Teddy didn’t seem to find it odd, so perhaps not. They would have to wait a little longer for that piece of news. Although she guessed it was safe to assume Rose wasn’t Hufflepuff too, or they probably would have sent letters together._

_Teddy didn’t know what to do with himself. Andromeda watched in amusement as he paced aimlessly around the kitchen, trying to expel some nervous energy, occasionally doing some sort of small hop or skip instead of a step._

_“He’ll be excited too, I expect,” she said. “He’ll probably have quite a few questions for you. You’re the one older Hufflepuff he knows at the moment.”_

_“I’ll go and write back now,” Teddy said, and rushed off to get some parchment and a quill._

_Andromeda went to the sink and fetched some water for Casper._

_“I expect this has been a busy couple of days for you,” she said to the owl, offering him the bowl. He drank gratefully, which she took as a response in the affirmative._

_“Don’t worry, it won’t be like this all the time. It’s usually just the first week that’s a bit hectic. After that it calms down.”_

_The owl looked up at her with deep, intelligent eyes, and she reached over to gently scratch his head. He nuzzled into her hand affectionately, before going back to the bowl to drink some more._

_The witch and the owl waited in the bright, warm kitchen, whilst her brightly-coloured grandson upstairs excitedly scribbled out his reply. Everything else was calm and still. Another Hufflepuff in the family, and somehow all was right with the world. Andromeda smiled, and went to make herself another hot drink._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've tried to do as much research as possible for stuff I don't know much about, but let me know if there's anything I've got wrong or could do better. I'd rather know what issues there are so I can improve, rather than never be told.
> 
> I'll post a copy of Albus' first year timetable on my tumblr (freyjawriter24.tumblr.com) if anyone's interested. Hope you're enjoying this so far - I am!


	4. A Lazy Afternoon

After lunch the first years were free to do what they liked. Urszula suggested they go down to the lake, since this was most likely one of the last days they’d have for a while before it started to get properly cold. Collette, Albus, Daisy, and Jacob all agreed, and the little group of Hufflepuffs headed out into the Hogwarts grounds, smiling and chattering excitedly about what their lessons would hold.

The Great Lake was a huge expanse of dark water, reaching right from the train station at Hogsmeade, where the students had arrived from London yesterday, all the way to the secret entrance at the base of the castle, where the first years’ boats had sailed to. The lake was rimmed with pebbles of various sizes, and while the shallows looked inviting, very quickly the loch dropped off into eerily hidden depths.

“I see why they call it the Black Lake,” Urszula said, gesturing at the almost opaque surface, absent of any colour, even that of the clear blue sky above. Sunlight glanced off the tips of a few soft waves created by the gentle breeze, but it was impossible to see what was beneath.

“Is there really a giant squid in there?” Albus asked, suddenly made slightly nervous by proximity. “My brother always said there was, but I wasn’t sure if he was just making it up to scare me.”

“Oh, there is,” Urszula said nonchalantly. She chose a spot on the grassy bank leading down to the edge, and sat down. Looking up at Al’s anxious expression, she grinned.

“It’s friendly, though, don’t worry. According to my matka, if it’s warm weather it comes into the shallows and plays with the students, flicking water at them and stuff. Nothing to be scared of.”

Albus’ mouth twitched into a nervous half smile, and the rest of them settled down on the ground around Urszula, gazing out across the lake.

It was a lovely place to be. The autumnal air that had hung around King’s Cross only yesterday didn’t seem to have reached Hogwarts, which struck Al as strange, since they were so much further north, but who was he to complain? A typical British September, today was sunnier than the whole last two weeks of August, as if the weather was mocking the children who now had to be shut up in school, rather than being able to play outside. But this was Hogwarts – Albus still couldn’t get over the fact that he was finally here – and it was the weekend. The cool breeze flowed through the long grass where the children sat, and gently ruffled their hair as they talked about everything and nothing. Here was green; below was black; above was blue; and they were yellow, and proud.

“Do you think we’ll be able to just fly around here whenever we want, once we’ve been taught?” Jacob was asking.

“I wouldn’t have thought so,” Al responded thoughtfully. “I think you’re meant to just stick to the quidditch pitch and the training grounds. I mean, you could try, I suppose. It would be amazing to see all this from high up. But I’m guessing there’s probably some safety regulation or something…”

Jacob gave a small snort of laugher and then shrugged and agreed. Al frowned, but didn’t ask why. He couldn’t quite figure out why that would be funny.

“No _way_!”

The shout from next to them made both boys turn. Collette and Urszula were both leaning towards Daisy, as if conducting an interrogation, looking incredulously at her. It had been Urszula that had spoken, and she quickly looked over to Albus and Jacob to include them in her amazement.

“Can you guys skip stones?” she asked quickly.

“Um, kind of…” Jacob said uncomfortably, in a voice that said ‘I really wish I could, but no’.

Urszula shifted her gaze to Albus.

“Yeah, sort of,” he said, shrugging. “Only a couple, but I can do it.”

“Daisy’s never done it before,” she announced, eyes shining, like it was some rite of passage that had been horribly overlooked.

“Come on,” she said, suddenly turning back to Daisy. She offered her a hand. “We’re going to teach you.”

Daisy’s nervous expression transformed into one of grateful happiness, and she pulled her long sleeve slightly away from her hand so she could give it to Urszula unimpeded. The girls helped each other to their feet, and Collette, Jacob, and Albus followed them down the bank, Urszula still dragging Daisy along by her hand, the latter nervously readjusting her glasses, but smiling.

There’s no real concept of time when you’re doing something like that. Just messing around, children playing, throwing stones and laughing and playfully pushing each other. Collette was the best at skipping pebbles, they soon found out, and although Urzsula tried her hardest, her record of eight didn’t match up to Collette’s cool fifteen. Jacob made three and was exultant, and Al got five after far too long trying. Eventually Daisy figured out how the whole thing worked, and quickly matched Jacob’s, though she couldn’t beat him.

At one point, Urszula decided she wanted to paddle, so discarded her socks and trainers to step into the lake, only to come sprinting out a split-second later, wet up to her ankles, and screeching about the cold. The others fell about laughing, and together they clambered back up the bank, Daisy carrying Urszula’s shoes, so her feet could dry in the sunlight.

It almost felt like summer again then, except the leaves on the trees nearby were already turning, and the breeze coming off the lake was colder than they would have liked. But it was lazy, relaxing, just having fun, joking around between the five of them, looking out at the views of the lake, playing with and pulling up the grass, wondering what was next yet feeling like this would never end.

Eventually the sun began to sink below the horizon, and as the darkness descended the little group decided to head back up to the castle. By the time they got there, dinner was being served, so they headed straight for the Great Hall.

The room was crowded, buzzing with people. Students in casual clothes, school robes, and even a couple of quidditch kits were scattered around the four long house tables, chatting together in groups and hungrily devouring the piles of delicious foods that had materialised before them.

Jacob spotted a handful of spare seats halfway up the Hufflepuff table, so they split in two and walked either side of the long benches to get there. As they passed a group of first years, being addressed enthusiastically by a prefect in a Ravenclaw scarf, Albus spotted his cousin, and grinned, waving. Rose saw him and smiled back, and for a moment they were both there, in houses other than Gryffindor, but with friends, and happy, and supporting each other. Rose gave a small nod, then turned back to her conversation, and Al followed Collette towards the spare seats.

“Was that your cousin?” Collette asked as they sat down.

“Yeah.”

“She seems like she’s enjoying the Ravenclaw life.”

Albus smiled.

“Yeah, I think she is.”

The group started piling their plates with food. Albus was just pouring pumpkin juice into a large goblet when he heard his name being called through the hubbub of students talking and laughing. He put down the jug and turned to see Victoire coming down the aisle at a half-walk, half-jog.

“Albus!” she said, stopping next to him. “I didn’t get to see you yesterday!”

She suddenly realised Jacob, Collette, Urszula and Daisy were all looking at her, and grinned widely, flicking her long, bright blonde hair off her shoulder.

“Hey,” she said, giving a little wave. “I’m Victoire, Albus’ cousin.”

The others smiled back and greeted her with a chorus of ‘hey’s and ‘hi’s. She turned back to Albus and started speaking rapidly.

“Sorry I didn’t see you sooner, but I wanted to say congratulations! I thought you might be Hufflepuff, but I didn’t want to say anything just in case. Teddy will be so thrilled, have you told him yet? And don’t listen to anything James says, I expect he’ll make some jokes about it or whatever, but none of us really mind, you know that. We’re still family, and we’re still here if you ever need us, or whatever.”

She paused for breath, and Albus grinned.

“Yeah, I owled Teddy this morning, after breakfast. He should know by now.”

“Oh, he’ll be so _pleased_!” she said, nearly jumping up and down, apparently just as excited herself.

“Have you seen Rose yet?” Al asked.

“Just about to go and see her now. Louis caught her last night, though, and she seems happy with her house. Have you spoken to her yet?”

“No, I kind of saw her a minute ago, but we haven’t spoken yet. I think I might have some classes with her, though, so that’ll be cool.”

“Oh, yeah, probably,” Victoire said. “That’ll be nice.”

She glanced over at Rose, sat chatting animatedly with her new friends, then turned back to Albus and the others.

“Right, sorry for interrupting, I’ll leave you guys to it. Enjoy the food!”

“Thanks,” Al said, trying to put as much emphasis into the word as possible. Victoire noticed and looked at him, then smiled.

“Honestly, don’t listen to a word James says. It’s fine, he’s just being an idiot. I’ll see you later, ok?”

Albus nodded. Victoire waved goodbye to the others, then disappeared off in the direction of Rose and her friends. Al wondered what his Ravenclaw cousin would make of such an enthusiastic congratulations, then decided not to watch. He turned back to his friends, and reached for his goblet.

“She seems excitable,” Jacob said, grinning.

Al smiled and shrugged. “She’s always like that. Our Grandma says she missed the bit where it’s not cool to like things, and just carried on with enjoying everything. The ‘eternal optimist’, Grandad says.”

“It’s nice of her to come over, though,” Collette said. “It must be weird to have so many family members at school with you.”

“Yeah,” Albus said thoughtfully. “I’d never really thought about it before, I guess. But yeah, it is a bit strange. I suppose not many people here know that many other kids before they get to school.”

Jacob asked how many cousins he actually had, and Albus found himself trying to explain his complicated family tree as they ate. By the time they’d gotten to dessert, Al had counted out every family member in his own and his parents’ generations, and the others had responded by telling him their siblings and parents and cousins. Albus definitely had the biggest family, but it certainly wasn’t the only interesting one.

After dinner, the group headed back to the common room and flopped down on a couple of sofas. Helga was out of her portrait, but Casper was waiting for Al, and flew over to drop a letter in his lap and get a quick scratch on the head, before disappearing through a window to spend the night in the Owlery.

“Who’s that from?” Jacob asked.

“Teddy,” Al said, tearing it open. “My dad’s godson. He’s Hufflepuff too.”

Collette asked whether that was who Victoire was talking about, and Albus nodded absently, already racing to read what Teddy had written to him.

_Hey Albus!_

_That’s amazing, I’m so happy for you!! Glad you’re having fun at Hogwarts so far – I’m so excited that you’ll get to see and do all the Hufflepuff stuff now! I remember first year being great fun – let me know if you ever have any questions or worries or anything (although I can guarantee anyone in the common room will be happy to help any time. Including Helga – if you haven’t spoken to her yet, go have a chat, she’s lovely!)._

_Gran says congratulations – since Grandad Ted and Mum were both Hufflepuff too, I think she’s pretty happy for you!_

_About Hufflepuff secrets – if you haven’t been shown the Room of Requirement yet, ask a prefect to take you. It’s amazing, and well worth knowing about! Only use it if you really need to, though, in case someone else wants it too…_

_Anyway, have a great time! Always happy to hear from you whenever you can, but don’t feel you have to write if you’re busy. Remember to enjoy yourself – the homework will kick in soon, so make the most of the easy stuff while it lasts!_

_Love Teddy xxx_

Albus found himself smiling as he read the letter, scrawled in a hurried version of Teddy’s usually neat handwriting. He could almost hear the excitement in Teddy’s voice through the paper, and imagined him jumping up and down when he’d first read the news, before racing to write back.

He read the letter again, then frowned.

“What’s the Room of Requirement?”

“Huh?”

Albus pointed to the letter, and the group focused their attention on him.

“I asked Teddy about Hufflepuff secrets, and he said the Room of Requirement. Anyone heard of it?”

The others all shook their heads. Al shrugged, looked around for an older student, and, not recognising any, made a mental note to ask Grimelda or one of the other prefects later.

“Wow, I’m exhausted!” Jacob said, stretching and settling deeper into the sofa.

“We’ve only been here a day,” Collette grinned. “Just wait until we start having lessons.”

Jacob groaned.

“Oh yeah, forgot this was a school,” Urszula said sarcastically. “It is amazing, though,” she added quietly after a moment. “I still can’t believe I’m finally here.”

Daisy nodded, and Albus agreed too. He was still in a perpetual state of awe, and even homework didn’t seem like it could possibly be the horrible looming thing everyone said it was – after all, they were learning magic, weren’t they?

“Anyone want to play a game of chess?” Urszula asked.

“Muggle or wizard’s?” Collette said.

Urszula shrugged. “I don’t mind.”

“What’s wizard’s chess like?” Daisy piped up nervously.

“It’s basically like muggle chess,” Urszula explained. “But you tell the pieces where to go and they move themselves. And whenever you take your opponent’s piece, they actually fight on the board.”

“My dad had a set that all had sabres,” Jacob said. “And they would fence whenever you tried to take one. Whenever the queen won, she’d do this thing where she’d flick the other piece’s weapon in the air and catch it, and then keep it for the rest of the game. One time my dad basically only used her, and she ended up with a whole belt full of swords.”

Collette giggled, and Albus grinned at the thought.

“Shall we do wizard’s, then, and show Daisy what it’s like?” Urszula suggested.

The others nodded, and Jacob volunteered to play the first game against Urszula.

It wasn’t a long game, and the others watched, fascinated, as Urszula’s black pieces rapidly decimated Jacob’s yellow side. Armed with broadswords and maces, the pieces took to smashing each other up rather than fencing daintily like Jacob’s father’s set, but once Urszula got Jacob’s king in checkmate, the pieces were able to reset themselves again, good as new.

Collette and Albus played next, Al struggling to remember the tactics that Rose and Uncle Ron had taught him, Collette frowning at the board for the whole game, as if trying to figure out what Albus’ next moves would be. It was a close game, and longer than the previous one – both players put the other’s king in check twice – but eventually Collette won, backing Al into a corner.

Daisy had a go next, having figured out the names for each square, and although Urszula started off easy on her, by the end she was having to use her full wits to win.

“That was amazing!” Urszula exclaimed as Daisy’s king finally dropped his sword in surrender. “You’re really good at this!”

Daisy blushed, and re-adjusted her glasses. “We play a lot at home. Dad’s really good, he taught me.”

Urszula smiled. “My mum taught me. She said she just wanted a decent opponent for a change – matka can’t play to save her life.”

“You two should both play my cousin Rose,” Al mused. “She’s amazing at it, knows all the strategies and tactics. I have no idea who’d win.”

“Maybe we could set up a mini tournament,” Urszula wondered aloud. “Is there a chess club? We should join and see who’s really the best. Swap tips, maybe, too.”

Daisy nodded enthusiastically.

“Yeah, maybe I could watch and figure out how on earth you do that,” Jacob said, mock-grumpily. Collette giggled.

Eventually the group got bored of chess, and then realised how late it was getting. It was only the weekend, but it was still their first time at Hogwarts, and they didn’t want to be tired for the new day ahead. Saying goodnight, the new students trooped off towards their dormitories to get ready for bed, promising to meet at breakfast in the morning.

Grimelda’s orange, glowing ball was waiting for the boys in the corner of the room. Jacob and Al chose the time they wanted to get up, then quietly got ready for bed, trying not to wake the others who were already asleep.

As Albus finally lay down, he felt all the activities of the day rush up and overwhelm him. He was exhausted, but he’d had the best time. He had made friends, explored Hogwarts, played games, written home, and spoken to Teddy, and he was happy. He was Hufflepuff, and he was happy.

He fell asleep with that thought in his mind. He was here, he was Hufflepuff, and he was happy. And he wasn’t going to let anyone get in the way of that.


End file.
